My Best Partner
by Aperax
Summary: Just the mention of her name was enough to make your heart pound. As Sinon returns to GGO to pick up where she left off, you join her in her adventures, dedicated in doing whatever you can to support your partner, your friend, and maybe something more as you balance the danger in GGO with a blossoming relationship. Reader X Sinon.
1. Headhunters: Chapter 1

**Hello! This was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, admittedly. I wanted to experiment with first person writing since I've never tried it before and I figured I'd might as well try something a bit out there while I'm at it. Thus I decided to write this reader-insert fic for fun. Though I'm going to be a bit fast and loose with GGO in terms of mechanics and how the game runs. I hope you can forgive me for that. But anyways, if you have any pointers or feedback, please let me know!**

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 **Headhunters**

Chapter 1

Here's the funny thing about life: often times even the most inconsequential thing can lead to a boatload of problems. A man sleeping in and missing work can cause a major traffic accident by not stopping a guy from running a red light, a visit to a coffee shop could lead to a city-wide blackout because someone just had to bring some for everyone. It's called the Butterfly Effect, and it's capable of all sorts of nasty things depending on how much Lady Luck really wanted to ruin your day.

Or in my case, how much Sinon really wanted to ruin my day. She was GGO's deadliest sniper, resident ice queen, and also the sole reason I was laying in a foxhole in the middle of a scorching desert with several guns pointed at my head.

Real team player, that one.

"I don't believe it," said one of the men standing over me, thrusting the barrel of his rifle in my direction like he intended to stab me with it, "This guy killed Jak? Look at him! That sniper couldn't even take half of Jak's health."

"Well that's awfully presumptuous of you. Ol' Faithful tried her best," I patted the forest green rifle laying at my side. Rust was growing on its body and dirt caked its inner mechanisms. The thing couldn't even kill me with how low level it was. But they didn't need to know that and I had to sell the act for as long as possible.

"Yeah, real cute. But you're not fooling anyone with that thing," the man said. His rifle came dangerously close to wacking me in the face with how much he was waving it around. He motioned his rifle to either side of me and the rest of his friends broke off, searching the area for anyone else. There wasn't much to look at unfortunately. Just overturned cars, burnt spaceship debris, and endless waves of sun-cooked sand. The perfect places for people to hide apparently. My non-existent comrades were sure to be caught.

"Hey, that guy I killed with my sniper, muscle-ly and tan and had his face stuck in a scowl. Jak was his name right? Y'know a lot of people wanted him dead because he had some kinda rare keycard on him. Something the top level players were itching to get. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would ya?" I asked. Nicely, I reminded myself. People like being asked nicely.

"What's it to you?" the man narrowed his eyes.

That was the question. Truth was I didn't really have a stake in this fight. Sinon dragged me along for it. She had apparently taken on a job to recover an item from an unknown player. The aforementioned keycard. Supposedly, it was essential to opening a secret vault holding all kinds of treasures. Exotic weapons, credits, end-game mods. All the bells and whistles needed to dominate the leaderboards.

It took her a long time to find out who had it. The only reason I was here was because I asked what she was up to the moment she discovered the player's identity.

That's what I get for being curious. Something, something, killed the cat.

"I don't want to make a scene. All I want is that item. I got someone wanting to pay a lot of credits for it, and I need money for some new equipment so, y'know, be a pal? I'll split it with you fifty-fifty. That's fair, right?"

"Hah! You're going to have to do better than that," he said. "Way I see it, you're in no position to be negotiating with me."

"I strongly suggest you reconsider. Look, that keycard is worth a fortune to the right people. The kind of people that don't forget favors they owe. Or people that cross them. Really, you'd be helping yourself as much as them," I said.

"How do I know you're not lying?" he asked. Well, he had me there. I shrugged.

"What if I said please?"

"Ain't happening."

"Pretty please?"

"You serious?"

"You drive a hard bargain." I said. "Fine, pretty please with the cherry on top. I don't give that to just anyone."

"Ah fuck it, I'll kill you just to shut you up."

A pop echoed in the air and a second later, a sniper round punched through a grenade the man had strapped to his belt and he disappeared in a violent explosion.

The shockwave threw me to the ground. Dirt and shrapnel rained all over me. Hot air choked the moisture from my throat, leaving me gasping for air. The ringing in my ears nearly drowned out the shouting of the other players amid the cacophony of destruction happening just a couple feet away. The pops came faster and gunfire erupted after.

I cursed under my breath and pushed myself up into a sitting position. Getting tossed around by explosions was never pleasant no matter how many times it happened. In real life I would have been out of the fight. My energy would have been sapped like I had endured the world's worst exercise regiment. Even in-game, it took a monumental effort to roll onto my stomach and crawl towards the edge of my foxhole.

Just then, my earpiece buzzed to life and a familiar girl's voice came through. Cool and smooth. Just as it's always been.

"Keep your head down. There's more coming your way," Sinon said.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun over there," my voice came out more hoarse than I would have liked. I reached into the waistband of my pants to touch the cool metal of my revolver. A Colt Python .357 with an eight inch barrel, polished wood grip, and a custom modification that significantly increased the frequency and damage of critical hits. My very favorite gun and the first Exotic weapon I ever owned. Charon.

I climbed up to the edge of the foxhole, peeking over the top. Only a few of my would-be members were still alive. One of Sinon's shots blasted through a guy's skull the moment I saw him and he collapsed in a heap before exploding into a shower of red pixels. Next to him, a guy in a beige combat vest and his hair tied back in a ponytail noticed me and aimed his SMG square at my chest.

I yanked my revolver free and fired. The gun kicked in my hand. The bullet buried itself into the man's gut. His whole body jerked, throwing off his aim and his SMG fired into the ground next to me. I didn't give him a chance to retaliate. Three more shots to his abdomen dropped him for good.

The familiar whine of Sinon's shots passed by my head and landed in another player's chest. I finished him off with another shot to his head.

Fire erupted on my shoulder. A brief stinging sensation warning me that I had been shot. I hissed out of pure instinct and fell back down in the foxhole, clutching the wound, "Sinon! Please tell me they're thinning out."

"They're not."

"Sinon, I wish you would lie to me once in a while."

"I won't."

"Ugh," I fired my last two rounds over the lip of my hidey-hole and ducked down as they returned fire. The air grew thick with the acrid smell of gun smoke. I clicked my tongue and discarded the spent casings from my revolver's cylinder, muttering to myself, "My job is to be bait to get shot at. Your job is to lie and tell me sweet nothings."

"On your right."

I took the warning in stride and grabbed a fistful of sand. The moment a man popped his head into my hiding spot, I chucked it and nailed him right in the face. He cried out and stumbled back, rubbing furiously at his eyes and I seized my chance. I reloaded my revolver and put two in his head, watching him crumple to the ground.

Sinon fired three times in rapid succession. The faint sound of glass shattering signaling more players falling to her deadly aim. For all the times she and I have our little disagreements, I had to admit that she was far more skilled at GGO than I was. She had more experience and it showed.

"Three heading in your direction. Right in front of you. They're making good use of cover. You might have to take care of them." she said.

My back pressed against the dirt slope of the foxhole, heart pounding against my chest. I held my revolver in both hands, breath stuck in my lungs as I waited and watched, finger less than an inch away from the trigger. But nobody came. Silence. For what felt like hours, nothing happened.

"Sinon, are you sure someone's coming?" I asked without tearing my eyes away from where my gun was pointing.

"Yes. Keep your guard up, they may be planning something."

I racked my brain trying to think of what they were doing. If they all ambushed me at once, they'd take me down no problem. I could kill one, maybe two if I was quick, but I wouldn't make it out alive.

But the foxhole I was hiding in was out in the open. They'd be sitting ducks for Sinon, who they couldn't even find. They wouldn't risk exposing themselves like that. As long as she was there, I was safe for the most part.

I heard a soft patter next to me. Like someone dropped a rock into the sand. I looked over and felt my heart stop.

It was a frag grenade. Missing its pin.

"Well, shit," was my succinct response.

I shot up to my feet. If adrenaline was a thing in this game, it would be flooding my veins. I climbed out of the foxhole with the fury of a madman and stumbled when bullets sliced through my legs and side.

I could scarcely hear Sinon shout my name before my whole world was consumed by a flash of light.

It felt like I got punched by the fist of God. My innards shook like a violent earthquake. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire. I lost all sense of direction. I felt weightless, searing hot air blowing in every direction. Then without warning the ground came at me and I face planted into the dirt.

My health dropped to almost nothing. A firm slap could have killed me. I rolled onto my back and looked in horror at the dozens of tiny bright red holes covering my body. Shrapnel. Some jagged pieces were still jutting out of my arms. I fought the urge to panic and swallowed, trying to soothe the tightness in my throat.

"I got him!"

Three men were hiding behind a burnt out car, covered from head to toe in ballistic armor and sporting LMG's that could shoot off every hair on my head with ammo left over. One of them was short, but built well and sported a buzzcut. Another was a tall and handsome man around my age. His brown hair was swept to the side to show off facial features that would make a model jealous. Both of them aimed their Minimi's straight at me. One twitch of the finger and I'd be dead before I had a chance to flinch.

The closest one wore grey lobster-like armor and a helmet with a streak of red paint over one eyehole. He leveled a belt-fed machine gun at me. A Heckler & Koch MG4 from what I could make out. His mouth, the only thing not covered, twisted into a smug grin.

"You're annoying to kill, I'll give you that," he said.

"You wouldn't be the first person to say that," I grimaced. I craned my head around. My revolver was nowhere in sight. Sinon was being worryingly silent. Best of all, I was out in the open with a health bar the size of a peanut.

My luck likes to deal me awful hands.

"I don't suppose I can make a deal with you guys? I really only came for something Jak had on him. I don't have a fight with you," I said. Lobster tilted his head to the side.

"I'll admit, me and my boys couldn't care less about what happened to Jak. He just wanted extra muscle to watch his back. Job was boring but he was paying pretty well for doing nothing. He was so afraid of player killers like you that he would pay anything to make sure he was safe."

 _Player Killer._

I couldn't help but glare at him. The last thing I want to be called is that.

"But," he continued, "Your sniping buddy? They're pretty interesting. Not a lot of people can shoot like that."

I felt a surge of protectiveness grow in my chest, but I willed it down and spoke in a deliberate tone, "Sorry to disappoint, but she isn't much of a team player. She'll turn down any offer you give of working with her."

The man barked with laughter. Even his buddies joined in.

"Join us? Nah, I don't want that. I already know she won't play ball. But that's fine. I'm not here to recruit her," He stood up to his full height, holding his machine gun in one hand as he leaned it against his shoulder. His voice boomed like the grenade that left me helpless, "Sinon! I know you're out there! You finally decided to return after all this time, huh? But things are different now. You're not the top dog in GGO anymore. You're just another washed up player past her prime."

I rolled onto my stomach, wincing as I felt the sting of shrapnel digging even deeper into my arms. I had to get away. I tried to crawl to safety, legs protesting against every small movement, but I was too slow. Lobster came closer and pressed his heavy boot onto the small of my back, pinning me in place.

"You're even taking chumps like this guy under your wing now. What happened to your sword-wielding pretty boy? He have enough of your attitude?"

Damn it, I couldn't move. My back ached, every limb felt like the energy had been sapped out of it.

His foot felt like a ten-ton weight crushing my spine and ribs. He could pulverize me with the slightest amount of pressure.

"Tell you what, I won't kill him just yet. You come out in the open. Fight me like a real player would. So that I can put an end to your legend as GGO's most famous sniper."

"Sinon, help. I'm being crushed by this guy's ego," I scowled. He put more of his weight on my back. The AmuSphere was immersive. Frighteningly so. I had to clench my teeth to keep from crying out. My body worked and twisted but I didn't come any closer to wrenching myself free.

"Come on out, Sinon. Save your friend, if you still got what it takes. And don't even think about sniping me. If I go down, my buddies will make sure he does too. So what's it gonna be?" he said.

Dead silence was his only answer. I held my breath, both expecting and dreading Sinon's arrival. If she got killed because of my screw up, I don't think I would be able to look her in the eye again.

But she didn't show herself. I scanned the area but I didn't find a trace of her. She was gone. I cursed under my breath, looking towards the skyscraper far off into the distance. There was nothing there. No glint of her sniper scope. No quick flash followed by a bullet. Sinon had vanished without a trace.

"Huh, guess when push comes to shove, she's just as much a loner as she always was," Lobster said. I raised my head, fingers digging into the scorching sand. She wouldn't abandon me. I had to believe that. She was distant, even a bit cold, but deep down she wouldn't leave a friend behind.

I hope she considered me a friend. God, I hope.

My earpiece crackled to life. A voice came through. _Her_ voice.

"Get ready to run."

A sharp bang split the air. Lobster cried out in pain above me. I looked over my shoulder and saw a large red hole where his knee used to be.

I seized my chance. I pushed myself up with all my strength as more bullets rained down on Lobster's friends. My sudden movement coupled with his wounded knee threw him off balance. I got up and swung my arm back as hard as I could. My blow hit home. His leg snapped at an unnatural angle. He fell to the ground, clutching his ruined limb as I dove for the nearest cover.

I rolled behind the crumbled remains of what used to be a wall. A moment later, a familiar figure darted around it at a full sprint and threw herself down next to me.

Teal hair, piercing blue eyes, a green desert outfit combined with a long white muffler, and an anti-material sniper rifle hanging off the back of her combat harness. Sinon herself. GGO's most infamous sniper and the reason I was currently full of holes.

"Are you alright?" Sinon asked.

"I could be a lot worse," I replied. I fumbled for the pouch strapped to my thigh and pulled out a plastic white syringe with a green light pulsing in the middle of it. I placed one end against my neck and squeezed the plunger on the other, sighing in content as a cool sensation bloomed in my chest. Little by little, my health climbed back up. The wounds covering my body closed up on their own until they disappeared completely, "For what it's worth, this isn't the most dangerous thing you've had me do."

I tossed the syringe aside and pulled out another one to inject myself with, "And… thanks. I'm glad you came to help me."

Sinon nodded. The corners of her lips tugged slightly upwards before her face fell back into its neutral expression, "Here, you dropped this."

In her hand was my prized revolver. Most of the chambers were empty. I smiled at her and took it from her, "I'm surprised you actually fired this thing. I thought it wasn't part of your build."

"Hmm...it was interesting chance to test it myself."

"Well, I'm glad that me being held hostage gave you the chance to experiment," I joked as I loaded the cylinder and flipped it closed with a satisfying click. A burst of gunfire pounded against our cover, "These three aren't messing around though. Heavily armed and armoured. Attacking them head on is suicide."

"We'll flank them. One of us draws their fire and the other takes them out from behind," Sinon suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Who's gonna be the...bait?" My entire face fell when I came to the answer on my own, "It's gonna be me again, isn't it?"

Sinon pulled her anti-material rifle free and set it on her lap, "This is the only thing we have that can completely negate their armor. I'm the only one who can shoot it effectively."

"I swear, I feel like you do this on purpose." I rose to my feet and leaned out of cover. The area around us was dotted with overturned pillars, pieces of an ancient starship's hull, and blown out buildings. The wind kicked up clouds of sand around us, like the beginnings of a storm. The in-game time had shifted with the sun sinking over the horizon, casting shades of purple and orange over the sky. Long gangly shadows were cast over us as night came closer. If I was quick and kept low, I could avoid most of their fire and the coming darkness would keep Sinon from being seen until it was too late.

It was the best chance we had.

I looked back at Sinon. She was staring at the ground, a wistful look on her face. I'd seen it before. In those low tension moments, whenever we weren't in the middle of a firefight or were stalking an enemy or another player, her eyes would gloss over or her lips would purse together. Like she was remembering something that troubled her.

She had been this way for a while. The few times I would ask what she was thinking, she would brush it off and try to change the subject. It was taboo to ask another person about their personal life in GGO. Still, I couldn't help but worry. Sinon was my partner, after all. Or atleast, the closest thing I had to one.

What bothered her, bothered me.

"Hey look alive, Sinon," I said in a soft voice.

Life sparked in her pupils as she focused on me. Our eyes met for only a moment until she broke eye contact and coughed into her hand, "Let's go, before they start swarming us."

"Couldn't agree more," I wrapped both hands around the grip of my revolver, pressing myself against the very edge of our cover, "Be careful out there, Sinon."

For a moment she didn't say anything. I almost turned to face her until I felt her breath touch my neck and her hand touch my arm.

"I should be telling you that."

Her voice was so close to my ear. I prayed to every god that I could think of that the game wouldn't replicate how much I must have been blushing in the real world.

It made it all the more harder to concentrate on the task ahead as both her words and her warmth lingered as she pulled away. Part of me wanted to stay and say something more to her, but I shoved those thoughts aside.

Some people needed to be shot first.

I bent my knees, my body tensing up like a coiled spring. I chanced one last look at Sinon then sprang into action.

My boots scuffed across the granules of sand as I broke into a full sprint, revolver half raised with my finger a mere twitch away from pulling the trigger. I jumped over a pile of rubble half my size and spotted them to my left, a dozen meters between them. Lobster was walking fine, no doubt he took advantage of the lull in gunfire to heal himself.

I fired twice at them. Just to get their attention on me. A moment later, I felt the all too familiar sensation of air whistling around me as they returned fire.

I had been in this area a few times before. When I was just starting out, I spent most of my time here killing monsters and grinding for loot. Even as the sun set and daylight disappeared, I recognized every little nook and cranny. I dodged past every obstacle in my way, bounding over and ducking under where I could. The pinging of metal and the cracking of concrete followed close behind.

Pain flared across my lower back. I stumbled as the sheer force of a bullet hit me, but I regained my balance and kept running. My teeth clenched together as my legs pumped faster. In the real world, they would have given out on me a long time ago from exhaustion.

Amidst the never ending sound of LMG fire was a single, familiar crack of a sniper rifle. A man cried out and I heard him tumble to the ground.

It was one of Lobster's cronies. The handsome one. On his chest was a red hole the size of my fist. I watched him reach out to his comrades until the back of his head jerked forward and he went limp.

Sinon was standing further away, smoke billowing from the muzzle of Hecate. Even so far away, our eyes met and I smiled at her in thanks.

"Shit, take her down now!"

Well I couldn't let that happen.

I leveled my gun and emptied the last four rounds I had. Two went wide and missed. The others struck the short, stocky man from before in the back. The bullets crushed themselves against his thick armor. He wasn't even fazed. That was fine. I didn't need to kill them. I just needed to be a distraction.

Shortie and Lobster turned back to me long enough for Sinon to disappear. I had to do the same. I ducked behind a collapsed pillar as hot lead flew over my head. With a flick of my wrist, I ejected the spent shells.

"Shit, take care of him, I'm going after the girl," Lobster gave the order to his last remaining ally. The same burning protectiveness from before rushed back out of me as I slapped the cylinder in place. Sinon could take care of herself. She could probably kill all three of us if she wanted. I knew that.

But like hell was I going to let two schmucks take a shot at her.

Shortie was coming closer, his Minimi leveled at my cover. His armor clanged and rattled as each piece bumped against each other, like a foreboding warning of my imminent death.

The sun was swallowed up by the horizon. The purples and oranges that filled the sky disappeared and the never ending black of night took hold. With no light for miles around, I could barely see my own hand in front of my face.

An idea formed in my head and I jumped on it before I had time to doubt it.

"Frag out!" I shouted.

I grabbed a nearby rock and threw it high up into the air. Shortie's eyes followed. Then his head tilted upwards.

I whipped out of cover and shot him in the throat, right beneath the helmet where there was a gap between it and the chestplate. The red pixels that spurted out were as bright as a floodlight. I caught a glimpse of his surprised face in their glow.

He grabbed his neck by reflex. I put another shot into his armpit. Then again on the inside of his thigh beneath his groin.

Shortie collapsed. His Minimi slipped from his hands. I took two steps forward and pointed my gun at his head and pulled the trigger with a triumphant fervor. With all the damage he took already, his armor couldn't save him. He twitched once, twice, then went still.

I didn't stick around to watch him burst into pixels. Lobster was still hunting Sinon. I had to move fast before he found her. Her health was still full when I checked on the top left of my vision, but I had to be on guard. It didn't guarantee anything.

I headed in the direction he did. My hands ran on auto-pilot as they reloaded my gun. The ever-present worry about Sinon's well-being was all that drove me forward as I ran like a bat out of hell.

I had circled around what looked to be the remains of an ancient tank when I heard it. Quick snaps like someone had lit a barrel full of firecrackers. My heart sped up. A second later so did my legs.

The sound had come from one of the few buildings still standing. The front doors had been thrown wide open. There was nothing but pitch blackness inside. I stopped just in front of the entrance, straining my ears to listen for the slightest sound. Anxiety curled itself into a cold ball in my chest. It spread over my arms, down my hips, thighs, and froze my feet in place. My revolver suddenly felt heavy in my hands.

"Sinon?" I whispered. I crept inside, swallowing the lump in my throat. There was no response. For every second that passed another alarm went off in my head. It didn't feel right. The apprehension clung to me, like it was riding my back. It didn't stop me from moving, but it constantly reminded me it was there. Somebody had fired their gun, most likely Lobster. Sinon's health hadn't dropped which meant he missed. Sinon hadn't fired herself which meant he was still alive too.

A quick motion caught my eye. I would have missed it entirely if I had blinked. A strip of bright white cloth that whipped through the darkened lobby before disappearing again, like a shark's fin cutting through water.

I opened my mouth to speak again. The words died in my throat when I heard a rapid set of footsteps barrel towards me. Someone rammed into my stomach and knocked me to the ground. The air was blown out of my lungs as I fell into a coughing fit.

A moment later, a hot rush of lead flew over us. The person that ran into me pressed my body into the ground with all her might. My eyes finally focused enough for me to see that it was Sinon lying on top of me.

"Stay down. He doesn't give up easy," she said when I tried to lift my head. Just to push the point, she shoved it back down into the sand, "The second he reloads, find cover."

The moment the shooting stopped, Sinon rolled off me and I moved off in the opposite direction towards a small boulder. I barely managed to get behind it before the shooting started again.

"You again? You just don't know when to die, huh?" Lobster growled as he came out of the building's entrance, his MG4 spitting suppressing fire at me. Chunks of stone crumbled from the assault and I dropped into a sitting position.

"Guess I should have figured aiming wasn't your strong suit when you're lugging that kind of gun around," I replied.

"Your smartass comments aren't going to save you. I'm going to kill both of you myself," Lobster growled.

"Ay yi yi, I take back what I said. You're carrying that gun cause you're compensating for something right? You so are," I gripped my revolver tightly in my hand and peeked over the boulder, wearing the smuggest grin I could muster, "Let me guess. It's smaller than Sinon's sense of humor, isn't it?"

Lobster roared and came at me like a freight train. He pelted my cover with everything he had. Chips of stone were blasted off and rained over my head. I'm eternally thankful that people like him are easy to piss off. Angry people do stupid things. They don't think straight. All that mattered to him was sweet, sweet vengeance. Consequences be damned.

Well, consequences don't like being ignored like that.

Lobster barreled towards me with wild abandon, his finger yanking the trigger until the barrel was red hot and the noise was near-deafening.

Then it came to an abrupt stop and his gun clicked empty.

Hello, consequences.

I climbed over the boulder and threw myself at him. The full brunt of my body weight slammed into him as I tackled him to the ground.

We rolled over each other, trying to gain leverage. Lobster had to have been twice my size, but he was slow and clumsy. He wasn't used to close range fighting. I pinned his own gun against his chest, locking his arms in an awkward position as I struggled to keep him there, wincing as his knee struck my side over and over.

"You're going down. You and Sinon! You're gonna learn what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong," he snarled.

"Yap, yap, yap, do you ever say anything else?" I hurled my head at his exposed jaw, hearing bone and teeth crack from the blow. It stunned him long enough for me to maneuver my hands out from between our bodies, "Guess what? I got something for you to learn too. Promise you won't ever forget it, cause boy it's the kind of thing that'll stick to you."

"For god's sake you don't know when to shut up you stu-"

With smug satisfaction, I watched as Lobster felt the barrel of my revolver press against his unarmored neck.

"You should have carried a smaller gun."

I pulled the trigger back again and again. Flashes of light and red pixels splayed over my vision. All six rounds pulverized his throat, tearing virtual arteries and vertebrae like wet tissue. His cries for help turned into nothing more than incoherent gargles.

A moment later, he was consumed with a bright light and disappeared in an explosion of pixels.

I got up to my knees, releasing the breath of air I didn't even know I was holding.

"Well done."

I looked over my shoulder. Sinon was walking towards me with her usual calm expression, her sniper slung over her shoulder. All the tension in my muscles evaporated in an instant, replaced with sheer exhaustion. I took every bit of strength I had not to flop over. After all this time, I still wasn't used to fighting other people. Wasn't used to killing other people. It drained me more than anything else. It made me frantic, almost panicked. It turned my heart into a jackhammer, mercilessly beating a thousand times a second.

"You could have helped, you know?" I said as I got up. My legs almost buckled under my weight, but somehow I managed to stay upright.

"He wasn't worth the bullet. You took care of him yourself anyways," she said. She scanned the area for a moment and tilted her head down a couple degrees, "I wasn't expecting my return to GGO to be so problematic. It looks like I've made more than a few enemies since last time I was here."

"Well, it's only natural, right? Everyone wants to be the big fish. You're just the biggest, baddest fish right now," I said. For a brief moment, I saw a proud smirk tug at her lips. Girls love compliments. Pay no attention to fish comparison, please.

"I got what we needed from Jak while you were busy," Sinon flashed a pale yellow keycard in my face. The letters were long faded and several stains covered the surface. As far as keys to unimaginable wealth went, it was pretty lackluster, "Let's get to higher ground so you can message the client in peace."

"Those are probably the nicest words you've said to me today," I gave her a tired grin. I closed my eyes and stretched my arms high into the air, swallowing deep gulps of GGO's finest desert air.

"Oh, and one more thing?" Sinon said. I opened one eye and watched her get a little too close for comfort. Heat rose up my cheeks. I started getting pleasantly warm. My heart thumped against my chest for a completely different reason than before as she stood within arm's reach of me. She was so close. The small, lizard part of my brain demanded that I get even closer. To close the distance. And damn did that sound like a good idea. But common sense fought back and I stayed where I was.

"Uh...yeah?" I didn't even dare to breath. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. Sinon opened her lips slightly. She sucked in a breath.

And then smashed her fist into my face so hard I felt my skull crack.

"Don't think I didn't hear that little comment about my sense of humor," she scowled. She turned and left without another word, leaving me crumpled on the ground in a daze.

If I was smart, I would have made a witty retort about how she proved my point. But it's hard to be smart when you're trying to figure out which way was up.

Sometimes it feels like the world loves to play tricks on me.

…

"Dear sir or madam, it is with great pleasure that we report that we have successfully recovered the item you asked for. Although the previous owner was reluctant to part with it, we managed to convince him to relinquish ownership of it after some careful and precise negotiations. Please reply to this message as soon as possible with a location of where you would like to meet so that we may hand the item over to you and discuss payment for the services rendered. With love, Sinon and friends."

"Are you serious? Don't put that."

"Put what? With love? Should I put hugs and kisses instead?"

Sinon shot me a withered glare. As far as killer looks go, it was pretty deadly. I heaved the heaviest, most overly dramatic sigh I could and rewrote the message, "Regards. There, short and sweet. Happy?"

I sent off the message and closed out my menu. It's faint blue light disappeared, leaving us both in the dark of night.

The skyscraper we were taking shelter in was deserted of both humans and monsters. From our spot on the top floor we could see for miles. An endless desert stretched out beneath us, dunes rising and falling like the waves of an ocean with an endless sea of stars above them. Too many to count. I had to admit, the view was impressive. Wish I had a camera.

The floor we were on was gutted. The walls were made of sheet metal and plywood nailed together in a haphazard fashion. A section of it was missing altogether. There was no glass in the window frames, exposing us to the intense wind as it howled and whistled past us. Rusted metal creaked and groaned. If this hadn't been a game, I'd be half worried that the entire building would come down.

Sinon sat nearby the section of missing wall, her legs crossed. She was fiddling with a small electric lantern when I came back. I sat down across from her and watched her work with passive interest, "You know, we can probably make a lot more money if we just kept the keycard and took the treasure for ourselves."

"There's nothing worth taking. For me anyways. All the equipment would be under my level," she said. She flicked the switch at the base of the lantern and the light flickered on, bathing us both in a dim silver color.

"What about credits?" I asked.

"I don't need credits. That's not what I play this game for."

"So you took on this job because…?"

"I needed a refresher. It's been a while since I played GGO. I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting rusty,"

The pieces started to fall together. She wasn't trying to earn money or anything like that, "You want to be the best player in GGO, right?"

At that, Sinon gave a curt nod. She crossed her arms, her brow knitting itself into a hard line.

"I haven't given up on that goal yet. I don't plan to. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get stronger. Because once I am, everything will be the way it's supposed to be," Something flashed in Sinon's eyes. An emotion that passed too quick for me to catch. Her lips parted slightly like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself before she could, "That's all."

"Jeez, well you're honest at least," I said. A gust of wind passed over us and I shivered. Rolling down the sleeves of my combat jacket, I added, "So if you don't need those credits, can I have them? I mean you did drag me out here against my will and forced me to play target dummy. I think I deserve a little compensation for that."

Sinon seemed to think for a moment, perching her elbows on top of her knees and tenting her fingers together. Then she gave a noncommittal shrug, "Ten percent."

"Thanks! I hate it." I tried shooting a glare back at her to see if it had any effect. Expectedly, it hadn't, "Can you please not lowball me here, Sinon? Pretty please? I'm feeling a bit under appreciated here. Besides, you said you didn't need the credits."

"They aren't what motivate me to keep playing, that's all," she replied. I sucked in a breath through my teeth and placed my hand against my chest.

"So you're going to leave me high and dry without so much as a thank you? I think I might cry."

Sinon rolled her eyes. Her mouth was covered by her muffler, but I liked to think she was hiding a smile under there. At least that was the best case scenario. Worst was probably me getting very intimate with all those jagged pieces of scrap metal fifty stories below us.

"You're so needy," she said.

"And you're a ball of sunshine, so I guess we both have our charming points," I replied. Sinon huffed and leaned back, planting her hands behind her to support herself.

"That guy was right, you really don't know when to shut up."

I smiled. It wouldn't be wrong to say I enjoyed the verbal jabs Sinon and I traded with each other. It was a chance to see her act a bit more sociable. Sometimes, when she gave me a real scathing remark, I'd laugh it up and for a moment I would see her eyes light up just a little. Those moments were the best.

We settled into a comfortable silence, watching clouds of sand get swept up by the wind, twisting and dancing in the air before falling back onto the dunes. I checked the time on my menu. It was close to midnight. I should have been in bed by now. But I wanted to stay here with her. Just a bit longer.

Next to me, Sinon sighed. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. The same forlorn look she had when we were hiding behind cover was on her face. I found myself staring at her. Her delicate features, her icy blue eyes, her flawless skin. The way she fought, the quiet confidence she had, the determination to face everything head on. I'd be an idiot to say I wasn't attracted to Sinon. She _was_ an attractive girl after all. But it was more than that. Her personality and her unwavering spirit drew me in. It made me want to learn more about her. To be closer to her. To help her when she needed it.

But the truth was there were so few girls in GGO. I'm almost positive that she's had her fair share of guys hitting on her. I knew better than to be added to that list. There were safer things to do with my time. Like cuddling rabid dogs.

She leaned forward and bowed her head, her face disappearing behind her locks of light blue hair. Her silence stretched on for a minute. Then two.

"Credit for your thoughts?" I asked in a soft voice. Her eyes met mine. It was difficult to read her face. The cool visage she always wore didn't show an inch of emotion. I started to think that she wouldn't answer until she turned away to observe the stars.

"I asked a friend if we could meet up and maybe go see a movie together, but she turned me down," she said.

"Oh, that sucks I guess. But that sort of thing happens, right? People are busy," I scratched the back of my head.

"She had a date with her boyfriend," Sinon added.

"Yeah?" I said, raising my voice slightly towards the end of the word to nudge her into being more specific.

Sinon's gaze jumped from the ground, to me, then to the sky. She flexed her fingers. Her boot tapped a nonsensical rhythm against the ground. Meanwhile, I waited patiently. For the thousandth time since I've known her, I wondered what went on in that head of hers.

Then she mumbled under her breath. I couldn't make out a word she said. I leaned in slightly and titled my ear in her direction, "Run that by me again?"

"No, forget it," She said, forcing the words out faster than I expected from her. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, refusing to even look in my general direction.

"Way to be a tease," I muttered.

A soft chime alerted us both to an incoming message. I opened my menu and checked the name.

"Ikuchi?"

"That's him. What did he say?" Sinon asked. With a tap of my finger, the message displayed itself on the holographic interface.

"Pulsar Lounge. Tomorrow at eight." I read aloud. I scrunched my nose at the curt response. Not even a thank you, "You know the place?"

"Yeah. It's near the center of SBC Glocken. A lot of people hang out there. Hard to do anything without someone noticing," Sinon replied.

"Huh, you say that like you're expecting trouble," I closed out the menu. SBC Glocken was the home base of every GGO player. It had shops, living quarters, cafes, the Governor's Office, everything you needed so that you could rest and re-arm in peace. But that also made it a safe-zone. Players couldn't hurt each other while they were in the city. The chances of an ambush or a trap waiting for us in Pulsar were zero.

At least that was the hope. Not long ago, there was an incident where players died in both the game and in real life, killed by someone who called himself Death Gun. I never pinned down the exact details. It happened before I joined GGO. But the news shook the playerbase to its core. Membership had taken a dip. People swore off VRMMO's completely, claiming that they were still as dangerous as SAO was. Some believed the ordeal would have killed GGO outright, but somehow it's reputation recovered. Slowly but surely. The incident faded from memory and Death Gun became nothing more than a name whispered in the back alleys of SBC Glocken.

I bit my lip to hide the grimace growing on my face. Killing people for no apparent reason. It was disgusting. No, worse than that. Abhorrent. Abominable.

 _Unforgivable._

"I don't know Ikuchi that well. He may try to scam me somehow. He's not a top ranked player, but he's aiming for it. I'll need to keep an eye out for anything he may try to pull," Sinon said. She pushed herself up to her feet and I did the same.

"I-I can tag along if you want! Couldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes," the words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to process them. Sinon regarded me with a raised brow, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Alright. Meet me there ten minutes before the meet up. We'll go in together," she said, "And one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For helping. I appreciate it," she said, her eyes softened as she looked at me. Now it was my turn to look away as I scratched my cheek.

"N-No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

Sinon nodded and headed through a nearby door and down the stairs. I sighed and followed after her, wanting nothing more than to go get some sleep. Today had drained me. I played bait, was shot at, blown up, smacked around, and tomorrow I was going to a meeting spot that may or may not be a trap.

All because I asked Sinon what she was doing.

Like I said. Butterfly Effect.


	2. Headhunters: Chapter 2

**Hello everyone, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the support you've shown this little experiment of mine. I'm having a lot of fun writing this up and I hope you guys enjoy it just as much. I wasn't expecting it to be honest. But anyways, enjoy this chapter and feel free to leave any feedback you have!**

* * *

Chapter 2

The clock had struck 7:40 and my revolver snapped closed as the fluorescent lights of SBC Glocken flickered to life, illuminating the metallic walkways that weaved over, under, and around the city's skyscrapers. Most of them were choked with other players either making their last purchases for the day or gearing up for an expedition at night. I watched them all through my apartment window, idly spinning Charon's cylinder with my free hand.

I took one last look around my apartment. It was spartan, all things considered. A table and two chairs were shoved off into the corner, covered in weapon parts and grease-stained rags. My bed was on the opposite side, its covers still as messy as I left them. At the foot of it lay a bulky white storage crate that held all my weapons, mods, and the various knick-knacks I kept for one reason or another. My closet was flanked on either side, the chassis and head of a high-level battle droid in a display case on one side and a wire shelf stuffed with books ranging from tips on monster hunting to how to clean your guns on the other.

I made some last minute checks of my ammo and headed to the door. When I touched the handle, my vision was engulfed in a bright light. A moment later, I was standing in the streets amongst the throng of players.

At a glance, the apartment I lived in look like any other you would see in the real world. It was five stories tall, built with the sleek metal that once belonged to a starship and the windows were frosted to keep people from peering inside. A flashing neon sign that read "Spades Luxury" was bolted over the door.

In the real world a building like Spades could house maybe a hundred people. A hundred fifty if you really wanted to. But the GGO devs were smart. The building itself was a cleverly disguised server, capable of housing nearly a million people at one time. The view I had in my apartment? No doubt it was being shared by thousands of other people at the same time.

"VR sure is something," I mumbled to myself as I let the ebb and flow of the people around me guide my way. I had looked up Pulsar's exact location earlier. It was only a five minute walk. Sinon would no doubt be waiting for me outside.

I broke off from the crowd and headed down a narrow staircase nestled between two buildings. It brought me to a landing that went off to my left, right, and straight ahead. I took the path to my left and continued on, passing a few loitering players. Unlike the ones in the main pathway, these guys look a lot more shifty, wearing cloaks and hoods to hide their appearances. One of the cloaked figures started following me and asked if I was interested in buying a one of a kind assault rifle that no-one else in the entire game has seen. All for the low, low price of five million credits and my dignity if I bought it. Yeah, right. I brushed him off and went on my way until I spotted my destination.

Pulsar was an odd sphere-shaped building with a smooth white exterior. Various spotlights were positioned around the surrounding skyscrapers to give it an ethereal purple glow. On it's top was a massive beam of violet light that shot straight up into the night sky.

I walked over the lounge's name etched on the ground. There was already a big crowd loitering around the entrance, chatting and trading jokes with each other like any other popular hangout in the real world. Some people glanced at my direction, looking me up and down. Paranoia sprouted in my chest. Any one of them could have been a lookout for Ikuchi so I kept my head down and walked towards the entrance. I got two steps in before I felt a presence slide up next to me.

"You're late," Sinon said. She wore an olive green jacket over a pink button-up paired with grey slacks and combat boots. Surprisingly, she still opted to wear that white muffler of hers. At least she's consistent.

"I took the scenic route. You seen Ikuchi anywhere?" I looked over my shoulder. Some of the people watching me went back to talking to each other. I chose to take that as a good thing.

"No, and that worries me. He should have been here by now," Sinon avoided bumping into a particularly large man with broad shoulders and a buzzcut and stopped just in front of the lounge's entrance.

"He's not the type to be fashionably late, is he?"

"I wouldn't know. It's not like we're friends," she said.

"Maybe you should start. Sit down, have a couple of drinks, chat him up. Be smooth and treat him to a dance or two. Guys swoon over that kind of thing," I said as I grabbed the door handle.

"I'll pass." Sinon replied. I threw her a cheeky smirk.

"If you won't dance with him, I will. And I will make it awkward. And I'll make sure everyone in this place knows it's because you're too embarrassed to do it," I teased her. Sinon glowered at me.

"You do that and I'll make sure you won't ever leave Glocken without me putting a bullet in you."

There was no emotion in Sinon's words. That's how I knew she was serious. Figuring I teased her enough, I dropped the subject and opened the door.

The moment I stepped inside, the music hit me like a freight train. Techno blared over the speakers hanging from the ceiling. The volume was near deafening and the heavy thumping of the beat seeped all the way down to my bones. Which was pretty impressive for a game where I didn't technically have any.

Pulsar's interior was dark, warm, and smelled of fruit and cheap perfume. Neon lights on the walls casted various blues, purples, and reds over us. Projectors shot holographic lasers over us in elaborate patterns. Along the curved walls were booths filled to the brim with players enjoying themselves in whatever food and drink the club provided. Some were even playing a card game with credits stacked in piles on their table.

At the center was the bar, a large metal counter shaped in a circle and manned by a few female NPC's. They wore white leather suit jackets that exposed their midriff and showed off a generous amount of cleavage. Along with it, they wore a fancy bow tie on their necks and a very, very short black and white skirt. The whole outfit was tight enough to accentuate all the right curves. If that wasn't enough, some of the women were swaying their hips to the thumping music as they poured drinks with a graceful finesse and a seductive smile.

Safe to say I wasn't the only guy in the room ogling them.

A sharp pain hit my side as Sinon elbowed me hard enough to rupture an organ, "Focus."

I massaged the spot where she hit me and grunted in reply. Together, we pushed through the crowds. People of various shapes and sizes, ranging from scrawny to brawny and everything in between, were packed shoulder to shoulder., whooping and hollering as they clinked their glasses together and drank. I pushed past them as fast as I could, uttering half-hearted apologies as I did. Sinon had taken it upon herself to grab the back of my jacket so that we wouldn't be seperated.

I had just reached the bar at the center when a meaty hand clamped down on my shoulder hard enough to stop me in my tracks.

"Sinon? Been waitin' for ya."

I almost couldn't hear him over the din of the music. But the man's sheer size was enough for me to notice him. He was built like a tank, broad and hardy. He nearly hit seven feet tall. His forest camo shirt strained against bulging muscles with arms as thick as tree trunks. His forest green cargo pants were noticeably bulky, as if he had a small army's worth of ordinance in them. The sunglasses perched on his crooked nose had a shiny silver frame and pitch black lenses. I couldn't see his eyes. I couldn't see where he was looking. Me thinks that was intentional.

Sinon didn't seem to be as daunted by the man's imposing figure as she let go of me to face him, "Where's Ikuchi?

"He's running a little late. He's asked me to escort the two of you to a private booth on the second floor. If you'd please," The man stepped aside and held his hand out towards the nearby staircase.

I leaned over and whispered to her, "The VIP treatment? Does this seem fishy to you?"

"We don't have a reason to refuse. Let's go," she said. Sinon took the lead and headed up the stairs. I followed close behind, turning my head from left to right to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The moment my foot touched the last step, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I felt a tingling sensation, like someone rubbed their socks on a carpet floor and gave me a small electric shock all over my body. GGO's system was checking me. No doubt it was reading my player ID and matching it with the names listed under the VIP section. Ikuchi's man was true to his word. The game let me up without a problem. If my name wasn't on there, the shock probably would have left me a sizzling corpse at the bottom of the stairs. Fun.

Once I reached the top, I took in the area. The second level was a more like a deck that overlooked the main floor and was noticeably more empty. The game's automatic sound mixer dampened the ear-splitting music down to a softer tune. Sofas made of dark brown leather were placed together in front of flat screen TV's mounted on the walls. Next to them were metal stands holding buckets filled with ice and a bottle of champagne. Two more female NPC's stood behind the bar in the far corner. One of them, a beautiful girl with wavy pink hair stretching down to her waist, looked up from the glass she was cleaning and winked at me with her golden eyes, a coy smile playing on her lips. I smiled back at her and turned away. The warmth crawling up my neck was hard to ignore.

Whose hand do I have to shake for making these NPC's so real?

The man led us to section of the VIP area that consisted of a single couch and several leather stools all surrounding a rich mahogany table with liquors, juice, and various other drinks stored in the shelf underneath, "Please make yourselves comfortable. Ikuchi will be here in a few minutes."

He walked off without another word. Sinon watched him go, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits of blue.

"Did you see what was going on?" she asked.

"Huh, what was going on?"

Sinon faced me. She reached up and played with the black hairclip on the right side of her face, "I saw it when we were going up the stairs. Five people on the floor below. All of them were wearing the same sunglasses as the guy that brought us here."

I swallowed. Every little clue was a piece of a bigger picture and those pieces were starring to make a dangerous image. Ikuchi clearly wanted a lot of his men in the building. The million credit question was why. Violence was out of the picture. Which meant that Ikuchi would have to rely on purely wits, intimidation, or negotiation to pull off whatever scheme he had planned. Assuming he had a scheme and this wasn't just us being paranoid, "Clearly this isn't going to go as simply as we thought. How do you want to play this?" I asked.

Sinon tilted her head down until her mouth disappeared behind her muffler, "Do nothing. No matter what happens, he can't hurt us. There's no risk of a shootout here. Let's just finish the deal and leave as soon as possible."

"Play along, then. Okay, might as well sit down and have a drink," I said. I rounded the table and plopped down on the sofa. Sinon sat down next to me without a word, her arms crossed into a tight knot and her entire posture rigid. And I thought 'Stiff as a board' was just a saying, "So you want something? Some juice to soothe the nerves?"

I reached under the table and pulled out an orange bottle with a thin neck and topped with a cork. When I looked at the label, a stats menu popped up next to it. Interestingly enough, it wasn't just an ordinary drink. It also provided a large buff to your maximum health for the next twenty four hours.

Nothing but the best for Pulsar's VIP's, I suppose.

I poured it into two glasses and handed one to Sinon, who took it with a nod of thanks. For a while, neither of us said anything, merely content with taking sips from our glasses to pass the time. Though while I was more preoccupied with enjoying the moment, Sinon was more concerned with watching every direction for the slightest reason to be on guard. I guess it was instinct for her at this point. Being a sniper meant she had to watch her back constantly to avoid being ambushed while she was staring down a scope.

Not me though. Getting shot at daily kinda wears the fear out of you after a while.

Three people suddenly ascended the staircase. One of them was a tall, thin man with shoulder length blonde hair and murky green eyes like swamp water. He was dressed in military fatigues and a bandolier of sniper rifle rounds was draped across his chest along with a pair of Beretta pistols strapped to his thighs. Another was a man of average height with unremarkable brown hair and olive skin wearing the same clothes as his counterpart, but traded the guns and bandoliers for a classic AK-47 assault rifle strapped to his back.

And between the two of them was the man I presumed to be Ikuchi. He looked to be our age. Tan skin and dark hair slicked back so it wouldn't be in the way of his youthful face. He had eyes the color of wine and a relaxed smile that showed his immaculate teeth. His white combat jacket stretched all the way down to his knees and had a wide open collar and bright blue lining on the seams along with a pair of finger-less gloves and knee pads.

But what really drew my attention was the long silver handle clipped to his belt. It shined even in the dim light of Pulsar. Sinon tensed up. She recognized it the same time I did. A photon sword. I'd never seen anyone use one out in the field. The playerbase considered it a novelty weapon. Just something to mess around with when you got bored of shooting things for awhile. Or at least that's what I thought.

"Ah, Sinon. Apologies for being so late. There was some business to deal with regarding my squad. The cost of being a leader. You understand," Ikuchi's voice was smooth and soft. Like silk. Or slime. I already didn't trust him.

Sinon looked at him askance and set her glass down, "I have your keycard."

"So you've told me. Though you've yet to tell me who your friend is," Ikuchi settled his eyes on me. So did his two pals and Sinon. I wasn't expecting to be the star of the show all of the sudden.

"Just a VIP. Enjoying all the luxuries you provided for us," I leaned back into the sofa, feeling the grip of my revolver press against my back. I placed the stem of the glass between my fingers and rocked it gently.

"Think nothing of it. What kind of man would I be if I didn't reward the people who serve me well?" Ikuchi sat down on one of the leather stools across from us. Serve. I couldn't help but wonder if he meant to say that.

His two friends broke off and took a spot next to us. One beside Sinon. The other beside me. Sinon shifted in her spot, putting a hand in her pocket with casual disinterest. Meanwhile, I arced a brow and glanced at my new buddy to my right, "The same kind of man that brings a dozen of his guys for what's supposed to be a quick exchange? You might end up scaring some of the other patrons, you know?"

If Ikuchi was fazed, he didn't show it. He laughed and wagged his finger at me, "Clever, clever. Well, I should have expected as much from someone Sinon's chosen to ally herself with. She always seems to find the most capable partners."

"We're here on business, Ikuchi. We should get to it," Sinon interjected. She slipped her hand out of her pocket. The worn, faded keycard was between her index and middle finger, "This was what you wanted, right?"

Ikuchi's face brightened, "Indeed it is. I knew you were the right girl for the job."

He called up his menu and tapped a few keys before Sinon's own holographic screen popped up. It was a trade request. Sinon accepted it and pressed her screen twice before the keycard disintegrated into pixels and reappeared in Ikuchi's hand.

"There we go. Eight hundred thousand credits as promise," he said. I nearly choked on my drink while I was taking a sip. He was paying that much? For a hunk of plastic that unlocked weapons that weren't even endgame worthy? It was insane. Unthinkable. Even a complete rookie wouldn't make that kind of mistake. And Ikuchi was no rookie. So either he had no idea how to place a price tag or he knew something we didn't.

I recalled everything Sinon told me about the job. She was tasked with getting a keycard that didn't look the least bit important from a guy that was looking for the vault door it opened. Problem was, he had no idea where the vault was located or what exactly was even inside. The only information I knew about its contents was that it wasn't something valuable enough for Sinon to take for herself. Which meant that whatever was inside wasn't a threat to any high level player.

It could have been nothing. Maybe what the vault had tucked away amounted to nothing more than a few adequate weapons and a banner that said 'You did it!'. Neat, but nothing more than a pat on the back.

Regardless, the keycard disappeared into one of Ikuchi's pockets before I could do so much as raise my voice. I debated whether or not to push the matter further. But in the end, would it have really mattered? At the end of the day, it was their deal. Not mine. If he wanted to throw that much money at nothing, I wasn't going to complain.

"Even after all this time you still haven't lost your edge, Sinon. I'm sure you've already heard the rumors going around. About how your skills are rusty after being gone for so long. Some of us were beginning to think that you weren't ever going to show up again," Ikuchi said. Sinon crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can put those rumors to rest. I'm here now. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," she said.

"Of course not. Though I wouldn't blame you if you did. After all, who would want to stay in a game where they almost got murdered by Death Gun."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. My breath hitched in my throat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sinon tighten her grip on her arms, her lips twisting into a barely contained scowl.

"Death Gun is gone. That's the end of it. And if you think you can bring him up to try and throw me off, then you're sorely mistaken," Sinon snarled. My gaze jumped between her and Ikuchi. Then I saw it. The men on the lower floor placed a finger against their ear and started making their way towards the staircase.

"I meant no offense. I was just looking out for a fellow GGO player. Death Gun was probably the most dangerous man to ever step foot in this game. To kill another person with no remorse, and so efficiently as well. In a morbid way, it's rather fascinating," Ikuchi tented his fingers together and spoke in a clear, deliberate tone, "I saw what happened during the Bullet of Bullets. How he chased after you and your friend. Kirito, wasn't it? But it was as if he had a personal vendetta against you specifically. One can't help but wonder why."

Sinon squeezed her arms so hard, her knuckles turned white. The tiniest bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Her icy blue eyes were engulfed in a fiery rage like I'd never seen before. This wasn't the anger she showed me when I teased her. It was something different. Raw and visceral.

Sinon was furious.

My gut sank low. Ikuchi's men were walking up the stairs. The man himself had a smug grin on his face. Like he was talking down to a toddler.

"This conversation is over," Sinon started to rise to her feet. Ikuchi's men made it to the top. I caught a flash of motion. And all hell broke loose.

I don't remember who pulled their gun first. But in less than a second, Charon was in my hand. I whirled the gun out, pushed myself back against the sofa. Something heavy was knocked over. Shouts rang in my ears as my sights lined up right for Ikuchi's head. Like a flash of lightning, he threw his arm out. The air in front of me vibrated as my vision was filled with red.

We stared at each other. Both of us silently dared the other to make a move. My revolver was pointed right between his eyes. And the harsh scarlet blade of his photon sword was inches away from my neck.

Ikuchi narrowed his eyes with a bemused laugh, "A revolver? Really?

"It makes me feel like a cool guy," I chanced a look around me. Every single one of his men had their guns leveled. Tall, Blonde, and Swampy had both his Beretta's aimed at my chest. Another man further back held a Remington 870 Shotgun. Two more held FN SCAR's, also, shockingly enough, pointed at me.

It was like I had their leader at gunpoint or something.

"Are you going to shoot me?" Ikuchi asked. His question hung in the air. I wanted to. I really wanted to. Nothing would have brought me more satisfaction than to pull the trigger and put a bullet right through his smarmy face. But I couldn't. Not because I didn't have the guts either.

"No point. We're in a safe zone. All I'd get out of it is a spent casing," I pulled Charon back and let it rest on my thigh.

Ikuchi didn't put his blade away. None of his goons budged either. I wasn't sure what he expected. There was no real point in fighting aside from making a ruckus. Even then, there were some clubs and bars that had a strict no-shooting policy on penalty of getting zapped. Pulsar could have been one of them.

His eyes jumped to my side and I did the same. Throughout our whole standoff, Sinon was sitting as still as a statue. Her eyes were closed and arms crossed just as they had been before. There wasn't even a hint that she moved during the entire thing. She sighed and stood up to her feet. Her voice was measured, untainted by the fury she showed just a few seconds ago, "Ikuchi, I don't know what you hoped to gain by doing this, but I swear if you try to pull something like this ever again, you'll be the next one in my sights."

Ikuchi gave a low chuckle and with a short hum of electricity, the blade of his sword disappeared. Almost as if on cue, the rest of his friends lowered their weapons and placed them back in their holsters, "I wouldn't dream of crossing you. I simply wanted to see if he was good enough to watch your back. All sorts of people are clawing their way up the ranks nowadays. Who's to say there won't be another person like Death Gun coming for you."

"They'll go down. Just like all the others. You can be sure of that."

Sinon headed towards the stairs. I ignored the analytical gaze coming from Ikuchi as I got off the couch and slid Charon back into the waistband of my pants, "Pleasure meeting you, I guess. Thanks for the drinks. Not so much for the uh, gun pointing."

I left the second floor and pushed past the bodies crowding the exit until I reached the outside. Sinon was a several feet away, walking towards a small plaza with a few benches and a fountain spewing green water. I managed to catch up to her, but she made no effort in slowing down.

"Testing me? What is he, your dad?" I said. Sinon shot me the kind of look that warned of an impending gut-punch and sighed.

"Sorry, he just brought back a lot of unpleasant memories with what he said," she explained.

We both came to a stop at a guardrail. There, between two skyscrapers, was a gorgeous view of the lower levels of Glocken. The brightly lit neon signs and street lamps were a kaleidoscope of golden and ruby lights as bright as the sun. Holographic advertisements floated above the never-ending stream of people, the sounds mixing together into a pleasant hum of everyday life.

"Are you alright?"

Sinon gave me an even look. The lights from below lit up her face in the same warm colors and her hair drifted against a gentle breeze. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have noticed. But with Sinon, I couldn't help but admire every little thing about her.

"Yeah, yeah. Just wasn't expecting it to go down the way it did," I said. I cleared my throat and added, "Are you holding up? He was throwing a lot at you back there. All that business with Dea-"

I stopped myself from going any further and corrected myself, "That guy from the tournament. I didn't know you were involved in that."

The Bullet of Bullets tournament was perhaps the biggest event in GGO. Dozens of participants battled it out in order to find out who was the strongest player in the game. No restrictions, no holds barred. You used what you had at your disposal and could utilize every dirty trick in the book if you wanted. It drove the crowds wild with excitement. So much so that it was all anyone would talk about in the weeks leading up to it and long after it ended. But the last Bullet of Bullets was talked about for an entirely different reason. The last tournament was when Death Gun appeared.

From what I'd heard, the mysterious serial killer was all anybody would talk about. The rumor mill spread all sorts of conspiracy theories and far-fetched ideas surrounding him once the dust settled. Call me a cynic, but it's pretty depressing that a man who killed real people got more attention than the actual winners of the tournament.

Sinon squeezed her eyes tight. A shaky breath escaped her lips, but she managed to force her words out, "It's a long story. I don't like remembering it for a lot of reasons. But I have to because I learned a lot that day. About myself...and others," she said as she leaned against the rail and stared down at the people below.

"Yeah? What did you learn? If you don't mind me asking," I rested my forearms on the railing next to her, close enough that we were shoulder to shoulder. She didn't protest.

"That being strong doesn't mean making it on my own. That having someone at my back that I can call a friend is worth more than any strategy or weapon. And that...I have to be very careful about who my friends really are. Because sometimes they'll hide something from you until it's too late to notice," Sinon voice was soft, but resolute. Like she took those lessons to heart. She turned her head to face me and I couldn't bring myself to not meet her eyes, "I want to get stronger, I've told you that before. But I want something else now. People I can rely on. People I can trust. So that one day, if I ever need strength, they'll lend me theirs."

I stared back at her. I could only imagine the struggles she had to overcome. Sinon never divulged much about herself, but I could tell she had been through more than any average person. Just the incident with Death Gun alone would have ruined most people. They would have never gotten near another AmuSphere, would have flinched at the sight of a gun. But Sinon pressed on, only needing her friends at her side to keep her going.

If that was the case, I'd be more than happy to oblige.

"Well for what it's worth, I'll be here anytime you need me," I said.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. Somebody's got to be around to make the witty comebacks, after all," I said. Sinon actually smiled at that. I did the same.

"They're okay, I'll give you that," she said.

"Psh, they're amazing. We both know it," I said with a laugh. Sinon looked away and drew her muffler over her mouth, but her cheeks lit up like she was trying to suppress a bigger smile from coming onto her face. My heart beat a little faster as I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling spread over my chest. It was kind of adorable.

Sinon cleared her throat after a moment and pulled the fabric back down once her usual blank expression took hold.

"A-Anyways, I still need to pay you for all your help," she said.

"Ah, yes my vast cut of ten percent. How could I forget?" I said. Sinon swiped her menu open and before long a request to transfer credits popped up in front of me. I accepted it. Eighty-thousand credits was about a day's worth of grinding and would pay my connection fee for a while. Would have been nice to get a bit more, but you had to take pleasure in the small victories sometimes.

"I'm going to go ahead and log out. I'll see you later, okay?" she said.

"Oh yeah, catch you later, Sinon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sinon gave me one last tiny smile and walked away. I sighed and went in the opposite direction. I opened my inventory screen and checked my cash balance. The reward was a nice little bump to my savings. I was hoping to buy mods for some clothing and guns I had stored away and four hundred thousand credits were definitely…

Wait, what?

I nearly tripped over my own feet. I checked my credits again, did the math, added it to my money from before, staring like a slack-jawed idiot all the while. Four hundred thousand credits. That was not ten percent.

"Hey, wait Sinon! You gave me…"

I turned around. She was nowhere to be found.

"Half the money…"

I looked down at my menu and dismissed it with a wave of my hand. Then little by little, a grin began to take hold.

"Thanks...Sinon," I whispered. Making sure no one was watching me, I pumped my fists in triumph and spun around on my heel to head home.

Or at least I would have if someone wasn't standing right in front of me.

I recognized her long pink hair and golden eyes instantly. She was still wearing that charming smile and white leather outfit that left nothing to the imagination. Up close she was about my height with the heels she wore. She stepped within arm's length of me and the intoxicating aroma of her vanilla-scented perfume wrapped around me like a cloud from heaven itself. I struggled to keep my composure as the NPC from Pulsar's VIP section looked me up and down.

"So, are you up for a little chat?"

Oh boy.

Tonight was just full of surprises.


	3. Headhunters: Chapter 3

**Hello everyone. First I want to say thank you all so much for the support. I honestly didn't believe I'd get this much of a reaction and I'm happy that you all are enjoying this as much as I am writing it. You guys rock. Also, I want to apologize if this chapter came out a bit late. I had to be out of town for a few days and on top of that, a couple of scenes had to be rewritten to make it the best it can be. Very sorry! Though from now on, I'm going to be updating my profile to at least keep you guys in the loop while I'm writing future chapters.**

 **One last thing, I have been getting quite a few questions about this fic ranging from a variety of things. While I can say this is happening a few months after the Phantom Bullet arc, (which if my timeline is right, is during the Mother's Rosario arc) all I can really say about anything else is that you have to keep reading to find out if certain events happen. Otherwise we'd be adventuring into spoiler territory ;)**

 **But anyways I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Common sense is perhaps the biggest reason Humans haven't died by now; a tried and true warning system formed from evolution that kept the average person from hurting themselves from their own stupidity. Don't put your hand on a hot stove. Drink your eight cups of water. Go to the doctor when you're sick. It was a survival guide imprinted on our brains when we were still monkeys. Really, Common Sense was just Wild Animal Instinct after it got a haircut and put on some decent clothes.

So when a very attractive girl takes you by the arm and drags you into an alleyway on the excuse that she wants to be alone with you, Common Sense should rear its head in and start sounding off the alarm.

Mine must have been out to lunch.

We came to a stop in the middle of the narrow passage. Cramped was an understatement. I couldn't even extend my arm all the way out as I leaned against one of the walls. Maybe that was her intention because now she was closer than ever and the sweet smell of her perfume almost left me in a daze.

"So you're the guy she's hanging around now, huh?" The pink haired woman said. Her voice was as sweet as it was friendly. Full lips pulled back even further as her smile grew.

"Uh," I mumbled, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva to ease the tightening of my throat. She giggled and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.

"I thought I would introduce myself. You could say that I'm a friend. Just like you are with Sinon, you know?"

"Uh-huh," I answered with a vigorous nod.

"I wanted to talk with the two of you ever since you stepped into Pulsar. Guess I couldn't catch her, but you'll be enough for me, right?" she asked.

"Uh, mhm," I babbled. Smoothtalker, that's me. She must have noticed because she put her hands on her hips and arced an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing you have some questions?" she asked. I managed to find my voice and pick my jaw off the floor. If I took any longer I would have started drooling. Eugh.

"Yeah, more than a few. Like why is an NPC talking to me outside of the lounge she's supposed to be in?" I asked.

"It's great, isn't it? Like, I blended right in and you guys didn't even notice me," The woman started doing little twirls on the spot, throwing her arms high up into the air with a wide grin on her face.

"Oh I noticed. Was kind of hard not to," I said as I recalled the rather intent way I was looking at her before, "But again, why is an NPC talking to me? Are you being controlled by someone? Maybe your systems got hacked? Because something that dances that goofy can't be in its right state of mind."

Her twirling came to an abrupt halt. The girl fussed and stomped her foot, even added a puffed cheek for effect, "I'm not an NPC. My name is Serena. I'm a player just like you. I just...sorta...disguised myself so nobody would recognize me. Like, y'know? It'd be such a major pain."

I squinted at her. The cogs in my head started turning and logic began coming back to me. For all her sexy allure and womanly charm, she sure acted like she just barely graduated middle school. I prefer my femme fatales to have a bit more gravitas.

I pinched the bridge of my nose to gather my thoughts. Serena didn't seem to be a threat, but the same could be said for a number of people in GGO. She went through a lot of trouble to get the chance to talk to me, though. We were still in a safe zone too. I could hear her out this one time, "Okay yeah sure. Let's pretend I understand what you mean. Why did you want to talk to Sinon and I?"

"Oh right! I wanted to warn the both of you," she said, holding up both pointer fingers then pulling one away, "But like I said, Sinon left. Really I wanted to warn her more than you. No offense, okay?

"Sure, I'm expendable. Happens all the time. But warn her about what?"

"Ikuchi."

With that magic word, my interest was piqued. I took a step closer, my voice dropping to a whisper, "What about him?"

"Uh, you see, he's sorta, like," Serena chewed on the inside of her cheek, "He wants to beat Sinon, like real bad."

"Well that's not really news. Half the people in Glocken are gunning for her. What makes him any different?" I asked. Serena waved her hands in front of her face.

"No, _real_ bad. Like he spends every minute thinking up ways to beat her. It's creepy," she said.

I looked around to make sure the man himself wasn't somehow listening in. The stunt Ikuchi pulled in Pulsar was enough to show he was willing to get a little extreme to get what he wanted. Add a dash of maniacal behavior and a teaspoon of Sinon obsession and you got yourself a piping-hot plate of crazy. That's something I'd like to steer clear of. Insane people? Harmless for the most part despite what movies show. But Ikuchi was the right amount of screwy. Just enough to be erratic, but aware enough to know what he was doing.

Like Serena said. Creepy.

Speaking of Serena, a thought entered my mind. A tiny nagging feeling that I couldn't push aside. It could have been nothing, she did seem to act like a bit of a spaz after all. But still, I wanted to be sure. I didn't survive this long by taking everything people said at face value.

"Okay, one last question," I said. I suddenly took a step forward and stared deep into her golden yellow eyes. They widened in surprise. Serena curled in on herself, shoulders hunched together, her back pressed against the wall. I had her cornered, "How did you manage to get inside the VIP lounge in the first place? And how do you know Ikuchi well enough to know he's plotting against Sinon all the time?"

"H-Hey, that's two questions!" she protested. I shrugged.

"I lied. So what's the deal?" I asked. Serena mumbled something incoherent under her breath. She raked her fingers through her hair like she was frantically trying to come up with a good excuse. I knew I was onto something. The only people who were in the VIP section were Ikuchi, his goons, and Sinon and I, his guests for the night. Nobody else was allowed in and it cost a lot of money to get names reserved on the list. On top of that, the maximum number of VIP's was kept purposefully low to add that flavor of exclusivity. Serena could have been a third party. She could have paid for her own access, but her reaction was enough to tell me that wasn't the case.

So process-of-elimination time. She wasn't smug enough to be Ikuchi. She was too bubbly to be Sinon. And last I checked, I wasn't a pink-haired girl wearing some really nice perfume. Which meant…

"You're part of Ikuchi's team. He brought you with him, didn't he?" I said. Serena yelped and jerked like I had just slapped her.

Ding-ding-ding!

"No, no, no! That isn't it at all! Like, like, like I just walked up there by myself that's all. It was just a coincidence that we were all there, you know?" she prattled. I crossed my arms, feigning a look of shock, and mimed the word 'wow' without saying it.

"You wanna keep digging this hole for yourself? I think I got a shovel in my inventory somewhere," I joked. Serena glowered at me as best she could. All pouty lips with the growl of a newborn puppy. As far as icy glares go, hers was like a cup of lukewarm water, "Listen sister, there's no point trying to be evasive about it. You're part of Ikuchi's group, that's fine. You haven't waved a sword in my face yet so you and I are already on great terms."

"Yeah, I saw that. I thought Ikuchi was gonna like, stab you with his sword," Serena pulled her hair over her shoulder and played with it idly. Her voice took on a solemn tone with a distant look in her eyes, "He's never done that before. He used to be so rational. But ever since he started getting into this game, he's been getting more and more freaky."

"Virtual reality can pretty hard to differentiate from the real world to some people. It happens," I said. Ikuchi wasn't the first person to use GGO, or any other VR game, to reinvent themselves. People took on whole new identities when they dived in. Your average boy or girl could become a ruthless combat veteran just by uttering the words 'Link start'.

Serena swallowed a deep breath, shivering as if a gust of wind had blown past us, "Did it happen to you?"

"Me? Ah, technically no, not yet," I wrung my hands together, "Though there was a time where things got a bit too real for me. I had to get away from VR for awhile before coming back."

I tried to shove those memories back down. It had been so long ago. It was ancient history as far as I was concerned. Better that it stayed that way.

"Oh," was all Serena said. A pregnant pause fell between us. She looked up and down the alley once more and sighed.

"I-I should go. I gave you the warning and that's all I came here for. I'll do something about Ikuchi. Stay away from him in the meantime. Sinon too, if you don't wanna get mixed up in all this" Serena didn't so much as look back at me as she exited the alley and left me all alone. I blew a mouthful of air through my nose and ran a hand over my hair.

After a few minutes passed, I left the alley and started the trek back to my apartment, my mind racing with a thousand different thoughts, theories, and half-baked ideas. If Serena had been telling the truth, Ikuchi was a far more dangerous person than I suspected. He had more guns, more people, and more power than Sinon and I. Three strikes. We're out.

Tonight could have been a show of force. A chance for Ikuchi to show off all his manpower and his big brain and his shiny sword in a place where we couldn't gun him down. At first glance, it looked like he was trying to intimidate us, bringing up Death Gun to rattle Sinon seemed to suggest as much. And it was all so he could eventually throw her off her game and kill her in a shootout. A plausible hunch. Likely, even.

But there was still a piece of the puzzle that didn't quite fit. Why did he hire Sinon to find a keycard for him, then pay her a small fortune for it? How did that fit into his plan? What was in that vault that he was dying to get, so much so that he would hire the one girl he considered a rival? Why pick her at all and not one of the dozen other high-ranking players around?

The more I thought about it, the more I began to suspect I wasn't seeing the whole picture. But trying to wrap my head around the whole thing was starting to give me a headache. I wasn't a cop, or some hard-boiled detective that chain smoked cigars as a hobby. Hell, I could barely hold my own against some of the tougher players in GGO. Going up against someone like Ikuchi was suicidal.

As much as I hated to admit it, following Serena's advice made sense. To him, I was nothing more than the sad sap being dragged around by his true target. I'm sure he would ignore me if I backed off. I could wash my hands of the entire thing, easy. All I had to do was keep my head down and stay away from Sinon until he beat her or she put enough bullets into him to start giving him second thoughts.

Ditch Sinon. Leave her to whatever fate had in store for her.

Abandon her.

Like hell was I gonna do that.

I picked up the pace until I started moving at a light jog. The crowds had thinned out and I reached my home base in significantly less time than before. I touched the building's front door and felt a bright light consume me before I materialized back in my apartment.

I pulled Charon out and tossed it on my work table with one hand while the other opened my menu. By now, Sinon had to be offline, but at the very least I could send her a message to read the next time she logged on. I opened a new window and wrote out everything that Serena told me from her warning about Ikuchi to her connection to him. Once I was satisfied, I sent it off and collapsed onto the messy sheets of my bed.

Even though I didn't do anything strenuous, I still felt exhausted. For being a VRMMO, Gun Gale could sure bring a few headaches with it. Who knew video games could be serious business?

I closed my eyes and massaged them with my fingers. After staring at the ceiling of my apartment for what felt like hours, I opened my menu and pressed the logout button. I had done my part. Hopefully, it would be enough.

If not, there was going to be a lot more shooting in my immediate future. I had to be ready for anything.

That was my mindset for the next few days. Whenever I got online, I checked to see if Sinon was too. She wasn't. I tried not to let it get to me. Real life took priority over VR, after all. It was mid-March; she probably had exams to worry about. Maybe the best friend she mentioned once was taking her out to see that movie, too.

For better or worse, I didn't hear from Ikuchi or Serena. No run-ins with anyone from his crew either. Things were, dare I say, peaceful.

Without the distractions they provided, I was largely left to my own devices. GGO players all had their own ways of enjoying the game. There were the standard PvP and PvE players, groups dedicated to raiding dungeons or power leveling, there was even a small subset of players that did nothing but explore and take advantage of all the sensations the AmuSphere provided. As for me, I started taking up my old job of monster hunting.

I laid down on the rooftop of a squat ruined office building, alone and surrounded by blown out AC units and rusted pipelines. In front of me was a hilly plain stretching on past the horizon. Behind me was Old South, one of the few decrepit cities that dotted GGO's landscape. Towers of crumbling concrete and broken glass reached high up above me, casting long and gnarled shadows. Some buildings had completely fallen apart from neglect. Nature had begun taking the city back. Hardy grass grew through the cracks on the sidewalk. Trees and vines bursted from the sides of buildings, shifting against the constant moaning wind.

Every so often, the distant thumping of gunfire was punctuated by explosions. I wasn't expecting anyone to stumble upon my position, and even if they did, they'd have nothing to gain by attacking a guy minding his own business. But if Lady Luck decided she wanted to ruin my day anyways, I had Charon holstered in a shoulder harness and concealed by my combat jacket along with a large knife strapped to my boot. Sometimes you gotta make your own luck.

Tapping a few buttons on my menu, a sleek white sniper rifle appeared in my hands, all curves and soft edges. It had a high range and was lighter than most other models. With a plentiful amount of energy packs and a respectable amount of punch, the Azimuth Optical Sniper Rifle was a reliable weapon of choice for monster hunters.

I unfolded the bipod underneath the barrel and settled it on the edge of the rooftop. The hills were empty aside from the occasional combat droid wandering around. But my eyes were set on something much bigger.

"Come on, come on, stick your furry little head out," I mumbled. I tapped a finger against the trigger at a steady rhythm, never pulling away from the scope of my sniper. Time marched on by and I didn't so much as move an inch. Five minutes turned to ten. Ten turned to twenty. Thirty. I stayed still, patient.

A shadow shifted. Not out in the hills. Right next to me. Something behind me moved.

I yanked Charon out of its holster and aimed at the figure across the rooftop, ready to empty every chamber. But as my eyes adjusted to the sunlight and I made out the figure's finer features, I relaxed with a smile growing on my face, "Hey there, Hecate. Fancy meeting you in a place like this."

Sinon hummed in acknowledgement and closed the distance between us. She sat down next to me with her arms crossed, "I got your message. I should have expected things would end up like this."

"To be fair, how often does a loony like Ikuchi take things this far? Sure people get a little carried away in VR since it can be pretty real at times, but they'll snap out of it once the AmuSphere comes off," I aimed back down the scope, "Not this guy though, if what Serena said is true, then he's got it out for you 24/7. That's not getting carried away, that's a...legitimate problem."

I bit back from saying the word 'obsession' to her. The last thing anyone wants to hear about a person is that they're obsessed with them. There were always stories about people who based their whole lives around television, movies, or games. Their sense of identity came from those things, not real life. VR has worsened that particular problem. Complete immersion came with its own drawbacks.

Ikuchi seemed to have fallen for it. He couldn't separate himself from his online persona. And now he was getting sucked into a vortex driven by his need to beat Sinon. It was consuming him, making him irrational.

I almost felt sorry for him.

"You know, it might be a good idea if you stayed away from GGO for a while. He hasn't made a move on me, but if he ever finds out where you are he'll start raising hell," I said. Sinon blinked, but otherwise remained still.

"I can't accept that. If he's coming after me then I have to meet him head on. Running away won't solve anything," she said.

"Sinon, sometimes you gotta pick your battles. And I'm starting to think this is one you should avoid. I'd think differently if it was just some random schmuck that wants to make a name for himself, but Ikuchi is something else," I tried to reason with her as I pulled away from my scope. I didn't want to take any chances. Sure, fights that happen over the internet were harmless. But VR was an entirely different ball game. Incidents had happened before. Hell, she was in one herself. I didn't want that to happen to her again.

Sinon turned. Her gaze fixed itself unflinchingly upon me, "I appreciate that you're worried about me, but I'll be fine. Ikuchi isn't the first person to come after me and he won't be the last."

I sighed and returned to aiming my rifle, "Just be careful, okay?"

For a while, Sinon said nothing. I fell back into the lull of watching the distant hills for any sign of my target. I didn't know how much time had passed until I caught a giant furry mass stalk out from behind one of the distant hills. I held my breath. My heart leapt up into my throat. My target had arrived.

A massive wolf came lumbering towards the city. It's seize easily dwarfed a tank. Each leg was taller than most players in GGO. Dirt and dark red splotches stained its grey fur. Its slobbering mouth was wide open, exposing sharp teeth that dripped with a viscous green goo. Plates of bone were protruding from its head, back, and paws like a kind of armor.

Once it came within range of my sniper, it's name popped up on my scope. I grinned and did a mental fistpump, "There she is. An Ig...Igno? Ignomino?"

"Ignominious," Sinon corrected me.

"An Ignominious Wolf. See I can say it. Me speak goodly," I remarked. After waiting for nearly an hour, I had a monster that would look real nice on my wall and I wasn't about to let it get away.

"Do you know how to use a sniper rifle?" Sinon asked.

"Pfft, of course I do. Put one in my hands and I'll make it sing like an instrument," I declared. Sinon raised a brow.

"Can you actually play an instrument?" she asked.

"Well...yeah. Air guitar," I said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sinon muttered.

I chuckled and refocused on my target. My rifle's muzzle hummed with an electric blue energy, as if it anticipated the kill just as much as I did. My senses dulled themselves, reducing everything around me to a blur. There was only the wolf and my crosshairs as they drifted towards one of its glowing red eyes.

I almost forgot Sinon was there until I heard her move around. Then she did something that drew all of my attention to her.

She placed a hand over mine, adjusting my hold on the rifle's grip while she turned the dial on top of the scope with the other, "Relax your fingers. If they're too rigid when you pull the trigger, you'll end up shifting your aim at the last second and the shot will go wide."

Relax, she says. The softness of her hand was enough to tense up my entire body. My stomach was doing flips as I became very aware of how close she was. There wasn't an inch of space between us. Her arm was wrapped gently around my neck so that she could keep adjusting the scope's reticle. But the real kicker was that her face was so close to mine that our cheeks were nearly touching.

Down boy, down hormones.

"Uh, Sinon? I feel like this is crossing some boundaries," I had no idea how I managed to keep my voice so neutral. Especially since my ears were damn near on fire with how hot they were.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

This was what I would consider to be the opposite of a problem, but I kept that comment to myself. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Her body's warmth felt amazing. I wanted to draw her in closer. To hold her against me. My chest clenched at the thought.

"N-No, no! Do what you..uh..do what you have to. I'll just sit here and...think nice thoughts," My tongue felt like a brick of lead. Meanwhile, Sinon busied herself with changing the position of my arm, sliding my fingers on the rifle's grip up or down as she did until it was at an optimal position. Every touch she gave me sent pleasant sensations over my skin. My hands were shaking in a fit of nerves.

"U-Um...I'm happy to have you here, Sinon."

Oh no.

Why did I say that? Am I that dumb? Yes, apparently. Sinon's hand twitched. A quiet but sharp gasp left her lips. Every second that ticked on by felt like an eternity. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Horror, embarrassment, and worry filled me all at once. It's times like these where putting a bullet through my own head sounded wonderful. Maybe it would erase my memory of saying something so idiotic.

"Think nothing of it. I'm here to help," she said. Once she was satisfied, she let go of me and scanned the surrounding area, "There's no wind and the distance is easily within three hundred meters. You should be able to make the shot as long as you don't make a mistake."

"Uh, right. Don't mess up. Always solid advice," I aimed back down the scope, trying desperately to shake the lingering thoughts of Sinon out of my head. The Ignominious Wolf drew closer, its ears turning in different directions, searching for suitable prey. If I had been up close, it would have been on me in an instant, tearing me limb from limb and inducing the kind of nightmares that would reduce any man into a blubbering mess. Because the GGO devs were sadists.

I swallowed a deep breath. Snipers weren't usually something I used, but in this case I had to make an exception to avoid being eaten. Most of the time, Sinon handled anything long range while I protected her from anything that came too close. It was a system that worked out for the both of us. We covered each other's weaknesses.

Taking a firm grip on Azimuth, I recalled everything she did when sniping and tried to imitate it. I tried to relax my posture as much as I could with her still laying so close me. I braced my shoulder against the stock and took calm, steady breaths. The Bullet Circle in my scope, GGO's own version of the aim-assist mechanic, grew and shrank in tune to my beating heart.

I pulled the trigger back slightly. The electric blue light coming from my rifle's muzzle transitioned into a bright silver. The Bullet Circle dwindled down to its smallest size and I fired.

Or tried to. Just as my finger started to twitch, Sinon seized my arm and pulled it back. She turned her head in the other direction, eyes narrowing, "Don't fire. I think I heard something. Someone's coming this way."

"Uh, yeah the wolf is. You know, that big grey thing, kinda mangy? Has a bad attitude," I said. Sinon pointedly ignored my comment and crawled towards the edge of the rooftop on our right. Deciding that maybe whatever she heard was more important, I went after her.

Right below us was a two way street that stretched down the length of Old South. It was filled with the standard fare of rusted cars and burnt metro buses. Oddly enough, there was a horse carriage in the mix as well. The pre-war inhabitants of the city must have enjoyed the novelty of it, I suppose.

But beyond all of it was a large group of players. I peered through my scope and could make out at least fifteen of them all walking towards us. The weapons they carried were a motley assortment ranging from assault rifles, LMG's, sub-machine guns, and a couple of shotguns.

I cursed under my breath when I spotted the last member a bit behind his fellows. On his shoulder was a LRAC F1 missile launcher. Its 89mm rocket was normally used to destroy tanks or any other heavily armored target. Which meant any player unfortunate enough to get caught in its blast would end up in pieces all over Old South. A definite ten on the 'No-thank-you' scale.

"You know, maybe, just maybe, they'll leave us alone if we ask real nice," I suggested. They were getting closer. Close enough that I noticed some of them were looking straight at the building we were on. At the front of the group was an older old man with close cropped white hair. My guess was that he called the shots. He wore a black squall jacket fitted with a harness that cradled his ACR carbine. Two Desert Eagles were strapped to the thighs of his camo pants with enough magazines along his belt to kill every man in his squad, including us.

He made several quick motions with his hand. Two groups broke off from the main force, five in each, and took up positions behind concrete barriers or abandoned cars.

"They're getting set up for a fight," Sinon said. Hecate materialized in her hands and in one smooth motion, she set it up and took aim.

"I still think we should ask nicely," I insisted as I put away Azimuth. Getting into a shootout wasn't the most ideal situation. They had us beat in the numbers game and were getting closer to us with every second. Even Sinon wouldn't be able to kill all of them before at least some reached the building.

The leader of the group crossed his arms, standing one hundred meters away. He stared straight at us, his lips set in a hard thin line, "Put the guns away," he said loud enough for us to hear, "I'd rather not have to resort to violence. As you can see, the odds are clearly stacked in our favor."

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," I muttered. Sinon raised her head slightly and shouted back to him.

"We won't be doing that. If you try to move any closer, I'll put one right between your eyes," she said, "Turn back the way you came. There's nothing for you here."

The man spotted me and smiled. Not the nice ones you see from old friends. The one that's used exclusively by evil villains when their dastardly plan is coming together.

"My name is Krieger. Judging from your sniper rifle, you must be the famous Sinon, am I right? We've been looking for you," he said.

"Oh boy, I think it's your adoring fan club again," I muttered. First Lobster and his pals, now Krieger and his, "You're just a natural at making friends."

"The intel said you two hung around each other. Wherever one of your are, the other isn't far behind," Krieger said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pair of stainless steel handcuffs, "Hand him over. That's all we want."

"Well, at least they're being diplomatic about trying to get you this time," I said. Then I froze. I processed what he said and my heart sank.

Hand _him_ over?

My eyes widened. The words repeated themselves over and over in my head, but my mind refused to acknowledge them. I had to have misheard him. Or maybe he was mistaken somehow. But try as I might, the truth was as plain as day.

This wasn't Sinon's adoring fan club.

This was mine.


	4. Headhunters: Chapter 4

**Okay, so sorry about the wait you guys, because boy this chapter ended up being waaaaay longer than I expected. Which made writing and editing it more time-consuming than I expected. But still, thank you guys for sticking with me, I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think. Y'all rock!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Fucking shit shit fuck shit.

Sinon and I traded glances. These guys were after me, and not the very dangerous and much more famous sniper by my side? Safe to say that my expectations got turned on its head. A lot of weird things had happened to me since I joined GGO. I've been target practice, got bonked over the head by a frying pan once, even seen people as thin as sticks overpower beefy soldiers because of their strength stats.

Being kidnapped was new though.

"Uh, can I say no? I'd very much like not to be taken prisoner," I interjected.

"I expected you to say no. That's what these are for," Krieger said, spinning one of the metal cuffs around his finger.

"Well yeah, but this is all so sudden. We haven't even settled on a safe word yet," I replied. I turned to Sinon and whispered harshly under my breath, "Do you know who this guy is? Cause I don't remember pissing him off or anything."

Sinon shook her head. Well that was problematic. Usually how these things went were someone would come up to her and declare that they would be the ones to kill her to gain fame, revenge, or some other reward. Then we gunned them down and go on about our day until the next guy came along.

But Krieger wanted me. Alive on top of that. I had never seen the man before in my life and I was small time compared to Sinon. Why was he going after me and not her?

"You're not taking him. If you push this, this won't end well for you. I can guarantee that," Sinon said as she pulled the bolt back on her sniper rifle. I took the chance to wrap my hand around the handle of my revolver. Krieger's men took aim at us in response, but he motioned for them to lower their guns and they followed his silent order without complaint.

Organized, disciplined, even professional if I was being honest. Krieger's men weren't some gung-ho run of the mill players. They knew what they were doing, so if things took a turn for the violent, we weren't going to have an easy time of killing them or running away. The thought of logging out had crossed my mind but that wasn't going to fly. If we weren't in a safe zone, our avatars would be lying helplessly on the ground for anyone to stumble across.

I briefly entertained the idea of logging out myself, but that would mean leaving Sinon to deal with an entire squad by herself while protecting my avatar's body. I didn't even think twice about rejecting that idea.

Which left us only two options: standing our ground or getting the hell out of dodge; either way we'd have to go through Krieger's gang.

"Sinon, how many of them do you think you can kill before they get here?" I whispered to her. Her eyes flicked from one group of soldiers to another.

"They're too close for comfort and have the advantage in numbers. I wouldn't be surprised if they start laying down suppressing fire to keep me from taking too many shots. So four, maybe five kills if we're lucky, but if they cover each other competently, it might be even less than that," Sinon closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, she turned to face me, "How high is your dexterity skill? Can you make basic traps?"

"Yeah, you want me to start laying them down?" I asked. Sinon reached into one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out a gray ball the size of her palm, laying it down between us. I recognized the unique design. It was a plasma grenade. Unlike their fragmentation cousins, plasma explosives relied on extreme temperatures capable of vaporizing an entire squad in the blink of an eye, making them one of the more popular explosives carried around by GGO's player base.

"Let's not delay this any further," Krieger said as Sinon handed me two more, "You have two minutes. If the thought of living wise doesn't cross your mind by then, I'm more than fine with doing things the hard way."

"There are four stories in this building," she said as she focused her attention back to the street below. I nodded as I secured each grenade on my belt, taking extra care not to touch the detonation button on top, "Place traps down on every stairwell leading to another floor. At the very least it'll buy us enough time to think of a way out of this."

"Got it. Hold the fort down in the meantime," I said. Sinon opened her menu and sent me a party invite. After I accepted, her health bar appeared right under mine and an earpiece materialized in my hand, "And Sinon? Thanks for sticking your neck out for me."

"Don't mention it. And watch your back down there," she said. I smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

"With pleasure. When this is all over, I owe you a drink," I crawled backwards until I was out of Krieger's sight, put the earpiece on, and jogged away from her.

The rooftop was practically a maze of AC units, power generators, and storage crates. It'd take anyone a good while to navigate through it and I chose to hunker down here partly for that reason. The roof's access panel was on the far side of our position. If I hurried I could at least make it to the second floor before Krieger's people started shooting.

I entered the confusing layout and turned one corner after another, passing dead ends and winding paths all while counting down the seconds in my head. I hit forty by the time I spotted the open hatch that led down into the building. I squeezed through a narrow opening between two industrial-sized air conditioners and pulled myself further along, my chestplate scraping against corroded metal. Once I made it to the other side, I ran for the hatch.

Until a man wearing a kevlar vest over stark white military fatigues emerged from behind a stack of metal crates with a shotgun aimed squarely. He certainly wasn't lacking in firepower. A submachine gun was strapped across his chest and a .44 magnum hung from his belt. He eyed me cautiously as he took a step closer, "Where do you think you're going?" he said through the fabric of his balaclava.

"Uh, to surrender?" I said. The man grunted, grabbed the collar of my jacket, and all but threw me towards the hatch. The barrel of his shotgun jabbed at my lower back hard enough to almost make me stumble.

"Start walking. If you so much as breathe too loud, I'll blow a hole through you," he said. I did as he said, keeping my hands up in the air while I desperately tried to think up a plan. As I came within a few meters of the hatch, an idea came to mind. It was dumb and likely to kill me more than the guy holding me at gunpoint, but going against my better judgement, I walked slower and slower until I came to a complete stop.

"What are you waiting for? Go down," the man said. I didn't budge an inch or say a word back to him. Tension tight in his voice, he jabbed his shotgun against my back again, "Are you deaf or someth-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because the moment the barrel pressed on my spine I threw my elbow back and knocked his shotgun to right while twisting my body left. He tried to shout another warning, but his voice was drowned out by a deafening bang that left my ear drums not so much ringing as full blown pounding. Pain blossomed on my right side. It felt like someone had rammed me with a semi-truck as the sheer force sent me into a spin and I hit the ground face-first.

"Shit," I wheezed as I rolled over onto my back. The man was regaining his balance after I my blow had connected, but it wouldn't last forever. Reaching inside my jacket, I pulled Charon free and emptied four rounds into him, striking him three times in the chest and once in the arm. His shotgun clattered to the ground as he reached for his sidearm, but he wasn't quick enough. I fired my last two rounds into his chest and he went limp, dropping dead before bursting into red shards.

Just then, my earpiece crackled to life and Sinon's voice came through. It wasn't hard to pick out the gunfire erupting a moment after, "What happened? I heard shooting and saw your health go down."

She wasn't wrong. I was in the yellow and a chunk of my hip was gone, replaced by a mess of red pixels. In the real world, I'd be a goner. The trauma and blood loss would have sent me into shock, but all I felt in GGO was a dull throbbing that came in waves over my abdomen. Things could have gone better, but they could have gone a lot worse too. I preferred to be optimistic for the moment.

"Had an uninvited guest. He must have gotten inside before we even noticed the main group," I got up and grabbed the dead man's shotgun. A small display window popped up next to it where the name 'Benelli M4' was written on top. There were only six shells left and the former owner had disappeared in a shower of pixels before I could take more ammo off him. I slung the weapon over my shoulder and hurried down the hatch's ladder to the fourth floor, "How are you holding up? They giving you a hard time over there?"

Even from a floor below, Hecate still cracked like thunder, "I'm fine. Two are down so far, but they're not making things easy. One group is throwing down suppressing fire while the other two advance."

"What about Krieger?" I asked.

"He's still alive. They all start shooting at me the second I aim for him. I've had to leave him alone for now."

"They know what they're doing. If things get too hot up there, come on down and meet up with me, alright?" I practically flew down a small flight of stairs, sweeping the Benelli from side to side as I passed empty rooms and turned corners. My missing hip made it difficult to walk, but I managed to keep moving at a steady pace.

Sinon hummed in acknowledgement, "Take care of yourself."

"Will do." I pushed open a door and poked my head inside. Unlike most of the other rooms, this one was a wide open cubicle farm with windows taking up an entire wall. Loose pieces of paper were scattered all over the floor. Rolling chairs were tipped over and computers were stripped down to almost nothing, but what struck me the most was how _dead_ it all felt, like someone had frozen time. Nothing moved or made a noise. My own breathing was the loudest thing in the room.

I walked down one of the aisles, taking a medical syringe from my pouch and injecting it into my thigh to bask in the cool sensation. My health climbed back up but it would take a few minutes for my avatar to regenerate its missing pieces. I had to be careful. Dodging gunfire was hard enough without having to deal with a missing hip.

Before long, I reached the stairwell that led to the lower floor and knelt down as I pulled out one of the plasma grenades. In GGO, creating traps required a high enough dexterity. Most players could create simple ones ranging from tripwires to your basic landmines, but the higher the stat, the more complicated traps someone could make. Luckily, Charon's critical hit perks practically demanded that I keep my dexterity high in order to make use of them, but making advanced traps was a pretty welcomed bonus.

I crouched down while keeping the grenade an inch off the ground. The game's interface picked up on my motion and opened a small menu for me to tap a few buttons. After a brief flash of light, the grenade found itself strapped underneath the stairs' handrail. Instead of an easy-to-spot tripwire, I opted for a small motion detector attached to the grenade's fuse. Anyone who wasn't part of my party would get a nasty surprise the moment they reached the top of the staircase and passed it.

"Sinon, first trap's rigged. Heading down to plant the second," I half-ran down to the next floor, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process thanks to the missing weight of my destroyed hip, "Haven't run across anyone else yet, but I'm keeping a lookout."

"Roger. I've killed another one, but some are starting to enter the building. Stay on your guard," she said. I heard the rapid popping of gunfire in the background, but her voice remained as calm as ever.

The third floor was a near carbon copy of the fourth, but half of the cubicles were charred black and falling apart. The windows were blown out along with a large stretch of a wall being nothing more than a crater, like a bomb had exploded. The smell of burnt plastic and smoking wood lingering in the air only reinforced that assumption.

Like last time, I headed down the aisle while keeping my shotgun leveled. I gave a quick sweep of every cubicle I passed, ready to blow the head off of anyone that could've been hiding inside. As I came to the next flight of stairs, however, a series of voices forced me to a stop. They were muffled and I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I knew they weren't friendly.

"Damn, they're early," I muttered to myself. I wouldn't have enough time to plant another trap. They'd shoot me the second I came in their sights and it would be suicide to go into a fight I had no chance of winning.

I hunkered down in one of the empty workstations and placed a plasma grenade underneath the desk, then I started back the way I came, "Sinon, these guys are marching up here. I'm heading back up to the roof."

"Copy that. How many traps have you set?" she asked.

"Two. I'll hold on to the last one just in case. We'll have a couple minutes tops before they-"

A streak of searing heat whizzed past my ear. My muscles tensed in an instant and I spun around on the spot, my shotgun kicking back against my shoulder as I fired a slug at the gunman standing across the room. At this distance, it did little more than mess up the furniture, but at the very least it kept the man's aim from zeroing in on me, "Scratch that, they're here now!"

I slung the shotgun across my back and took cover behind a pillar. A hailstorm of bullets pounded against the walls and floors, ventilating desks and tossing paper into the air as the room filled with the sour smell of gunsmoke. I dropped down into a runner's stance, hands planted on the ground and the heel of my boot against the pillar. I wasn't going to make it two steps without getting filled with holes so I waited patiently for my chance, and came with a long, high-pitched beep.

The plasma grenade I set detonated. I felt the air get sucked past me like a black hole had appeared in the middle of the room and not a second later, everything exploded outwards. A rush of hot air blew in all directions, nearly scalding my exposed skin. The shockwave of the blast upturned sofas and desks, nearly rocking the entire building down to its foundations. The constant gunfire came to an abrupt stop as the startled cries of some unfortunate players that were either killed or mutilated in the blast took their place.

I took off sprinting. A few shots chased after me, but went wide as I raced back up to the top floor. I tapped my earpiece as I headed towards the roof access hatch, "Second trap went off. Think I killed a few, but now they're probably more angry."

"Hopefully one of them was Krieger," Sinon said.

"Aww, don't start getting my hopes up like that."

I reached the ladder leading to the roof and made my way up. Once I made it to the top, I slammed the hatch shut and looked around for anything to put on top of it. My eyes fell on the stack of metal crates the previous owner of my shotgun was hiding behind. I went behind it and pushed with all my might, grunting with exertion until they toppled over and buried the only way up to the roof.

"You okay?"

Sinon was standing to my right with Hecate in her hands. Her eyes were clearly staring the gaping wound I suffered, but I gave her a dismissive wave to let her know not to worry and braced my hands against my knees.

"I'd make a weight-loss joke, but we're short on time. There were a lot of guys on my tail," I said. Right on cue, we both heard banging against the hatch. It gave just a little, but the added weight of the metal crates kept it from opening more than half an inch, "Are. There _are_ a lot of guys on my tail."

"Come with me, I think I have an idea," Sinon said as she climbed up atop one of the smaller AC units and jumped off it. I followed after her, climbing and hopping until we reached the edge of the rooftop.

"They must have disarmed the last trap I set. Guess I could only fool them once," I said as Sinon peered down at the street below. Her brow furrowed and she remained silent for a moment until she nodded her head.

"The windows below us are within reach. We might be able to kill a few more of them if we catch them by surprise," she said. I looked down as well, but all I saw was the destroyed street and burnt cars that were always sitting there.

"Uh, great? But how are we gonna get down there?" I asked. Instead of replying, Sinon slung her rifle around and began undoing the muffler around her neck, then handed one end to me.

"Take this. Don't let go no matter what," She knelt down and tied the other end around her ankle, "I'm going to need both hands to handle Hecate."

"Wait, what?" I stared dumbfounded at the piece of fabric in my hands, trying to piece together what her plan was. It wasn't until she stood up and walked over to the very edge of the rooftop did I realize too late.

Without so much as a look back, Sinon jumped straight off the rooftop.

"Oh god damn it," were the last words I could get out before Sinon's weight nearly yanked me off the roof with her. I dug my feet into the ground, but I was losing ground quick. I let out a string of uncivil curses, wrapped the muffler around my hand and pulled until it became taut and stretched to the point of almost tearing.

My toes were sticking off the roof edge when I came to a halt. I looked down, absolutely dumbfounded, at the sight of Sinon hanging upside down and aiming her sniper rifle right through the windows of the fourth floor. She took a mere second to adjust to the abnormal position and fired a single round through the glass, sending pieces flying as the recoil swung her backwards.

"What the hell?!"

"Hostile outside the window!"

"You gotta be kidding me."

Evidently, nobody saw this coming. Not them or me.

"One down," Sinon said. I adjusted my grip and pulled, bringing her back in closer as she aimed and fired again, "Two. Swing me!"

"Swing — what?" I resisted the urge to question her and just did as she said, pulling her in one direction then another. A hail of gunfire blasted through the shatter window and Sinon spun and dodged every shot that came close. She pirouetted mid-air then brought her rifle to bear to fire another shot.

"Three down. Pull me up," she said. I reeled her up as fast as I could as another intense barrage of gunfire followed her, tearing bricks and mortar apart. Once she was in arm's reach, she curled herself up and took my offered hand.

"Of all the crazy things I've seen you do, that's pretty up there," I said to her as I pulled her back up and handed her the end of her muffler back. She took it with a nod of thanks and wrapped it around her neck.

Good grief, Sinon pulled off something that didn't seem physically possible in GGO or in the real world. If her skills in sniping weren't already enough to convince me how out of my league she was, that certainly would have done it.

"We need to get a move on. By my guess, they're down to about half their size," she said. A loud crash suddenly came from across the rooftop and I sighed under my breath. Persistent bastards, they were.

"And they're all probably pouring in as we speak," I said, bringing my shotgun to bear. I crouched down under a bulky metal machine that might have been a backup generator in the past and Sinon crouched down next to me, switching out her sniper for a matte black Glock 18C. Not as powerful as her primary weapon, but it could fire a hell of a lot faster than Hecate, "By the way, Sinon?"

"Yeah?" she replied as she peeked over our cover.

"Did you ever kill that rocket launcher guy? I didn't see him on the way over here," I asked, daring to let some hope shine in me.

"No, he's still alive," And just like that, the hope was gone. Sinon whipped out of cover as she spotted the first of Krieger's men, forcing him to back up the way he came with a couple of short, controlled bursts. She ducked back down as more enemies popped out of their hiding places, pelting our position with an incessant amount of suppressing fire.

"Wonderful," I reloaded Charon and put it back in its holster, then checked my shotgun's ammo count. Five shells were left. Not a lot, but it had to be enough, "We can't stay here. The longer we take, the more time they'll have to pin us down."

"Stay on the move. Kite them around the area until we find a way out," she said. Sinon bolted before I had a chance to object. I heaved a terse sigh, worked up the nerve to go back out into the fray, and sprinted until I kept myself a few paces behind her, running along the edge of the rooftop.

A man covered from head to toe in kevlar popped out from behind a rusted AC unit. Sinon, without breaking stride, put six bullets into his leg and thigh in the time it took me to blink and ran past him as he fell to a knee. I followed after her, but not before putting a shotgun shell straight through the man's head. The armor did little to save him.

Another player came around behind us and unloaded his assault rifle. Pain bloomed in my shoulder and back, so unexpected that I bit my tongue on accident. With a defiant shout, I turned and fired two shells back. His arm exploded into red pixels, hand dangling by a piece of virtual flesh and dripping with stark red pixels. It almost would have been stomach churning if I hadn't already turned away from the sight to catch up with Sinon.

Just as I allowed myself a chance to breathe easy, yet another player appeared between us. He sprang out from behind a ruined couch someone left behind years ago and moved with the fluid grace of someone who invested heavily into the Agility stat. I grimaced, trying to bring the Benelli up for quick shot, but he was too fast. He closed the distance, made it past the business end of my shotgun, and bashed the stock of his MP5 in my face.

I saw stars. My brain bounced around inside my skull like a rattle as I fell to a knee, clutching my head. I swear I saw three of the same guy as he leveled his submachine gun at me, "Stay on the ground, now!"

He spun around and aimed his gun at Sinon just as she tried to raise her pistol, "Don't do anything stupid. We need him alive, but the boss didn't say anything about you."

I shook my head clear. He had his back turned to me. I raised my shotgun to pull the trigger, but the man threw his leg back and kicked my face like a damn mule, knocking me flat without ever taking his eyes off Sinon.

"Put the gun down!" he yelled at her.

I looked at Sinon while rubbing my battered cheek. Her expression turned hard, fingers wrapped tightly around the grip of her pistol until they were practically shaking. Little by little, her breathing slowed, lips set in a thin emotionless line. I'd seen the expression before, when she was furiously trying to think on her feet, to make a snap judgement. I saw the subtle shift of her body weight, the tension in her joints winding up. Our eyes met for a brief moment and I nodded to her.

"I'm not done with you yet," I growled as I picked myself up. The man hurled his boot at me again, but I was ready for it. I swung my own leg out and nailed him in the shin hard enough to throw him off balance.

Sinon charged him and fired her pistol. Most of the shots struck his kevlar and he didn't even flinch. The player regained his footing and returned fire, but Sinon was just as quick as he was, dodging left and right, running low to avoid another burst, then finally slamming her shoulder into his stomach, pushing him back towards me.

I scrambled for my fallen shotgun, scooping it up off the ground and pointing it straight at his spine. I fired twice and the barrel belched fire on both pulls of the trigger.

The shots hit home. Dozens of pellets tore into his back at point blank range and turned it into a bright red pulp. I grinned, expecting him to go down, but instead he roared and pushed Sinon off of him and emptied his clip at her.

Well that wasn't part of the plan. I had to act fast. I reached down and unsheathed the knife strapped to my boot then threw myself at him, shoving the blade into his exposed armpit, twisting it in place with a snarl. The sharp, unexpected pain jerked his entire body, throwing off his aim long enough for Sinon to take cover. The man growled and responded by pedaling backwards and slamming me against an AC unit hard enough to have all the air evacuate my lungs. I fell into a coughing fit, utterly distracted while he turned around and slammed his submachine gun across my neck, pinning me against the heavy piece of machinery like he intended to strangle me with it.

Bullets pounded into his body. Sinon shot every last round she had into him, trigger finger twitching dozens of times, over and over until wisps of smoke curled around the barrel. Glowing red marks peppered the man's body as he winced in pain. His grip loosened enough for me to hop up and drive both legs into his chest to knock him off, nearly kicking him off the roof entirely.

I fell on my ass and pulled Charon out from its holster. The gun shook in my hands, and at the same time, the man tried to aim his MP5 right for me, but he couldn't raise it all the way. I quickly realized why. My knife was still jutting out from his armpit, costing him precious seconds. I didn't have time to aim. Didn't have time to hesitate. I just reacted. Charon barked four times and a new wave of needle-like sensations sprouted over my body as he attempted to fire back.

The exchange lasted barely a second. The man stumbled backwards, pressing his hands against the wounds. His scowl went limp and without so much as a breath of air, he fell backwards off the roof.

Sinon came to my side as she ejected the spent magazine from her Glock and slapped in a new one. I looked over to her and held my hand up high, "Yeah, teamwork!"

Sinon rolled her eyes, but high-fived me anyways. Even a girl like her knew it would be criminal to leave someone hanging.

I sighed and tried to pick myself up, "Jeez, what does that guy eat for breakfast? Diesel trucks?"

"He must have put a lot of his points into Vitality. Most players would have died after everything we did to him," Sinon got me up to my feet, placing my arm over her shoulders. My legs were jelly. The moment I put weight on them, I almost collapsed again.

"Freaking min-maxers," I mumbled. Angry red spots covered my entire lower body where I'd been hit. My health was still yellow, but it wouldn't take much to drop me into the red. Sinon reached into the pouch on my hip and injected me with a fresh medical syringe. The cooling sensation flooded my veins and strength slowly returned to my limbs, but by no means was I completely healed. Every step sent a fresh stab of fire up my body, but my steps were a little more sure and a little less shaky.

"Let's get going. We're not out of the woods yet," I said. We hurried a few feet further until Sinon held up a hand to tell me to stop.

"There!" she pointed at an adjacent building, an apartment complex. Its size easily dwarfed our own, reaching up thirty stories high with numerous balconies were on the wall facing us. All that separated us from salvation was an alleyway gap in a few meters wide, "If we jump onto one of the those balconies, we can get inside, cut off their line of sight, then head to street level. We can lose them further into the city."

I bit my lip in apprehension. Under better circumstances, I could make the jump no problem, but my avatar was still damaged and my injuries hadn't healed fully. She may as well have asked me to jump the whole building. My odds would have been the same either way.

Unfortunately, I didn't have another option and trying to make the jump was better than being left at the mercy of Krieger and whatever he had in store for me.

"Alright, you go first. I'll keep an eye out," I said, I turned towards the way we came and leaned against a nearby antenna dish, tossing the useless shotgun aside and drawing Charon out.

Sinon took a few steps back from the edge. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She spared me one last nod and gunned it. She took three long strides and threw herself across the gap, slamming into the metal guard rail of the closest balcony and wrapping her arms over the top of the bannister to keep herself from falling. Once she made sure her grip was firm, she beckoned me to follow.

I swallowed what anxiety I had left. Stepping a few paces back, I took a deep breath, prayed to whatever god had the misfortune of dealing with me, and ran. I focused on Sinon, tuned out every base instinct telling me to stop.

Then the entire right side of my body crumpled. The hole left by my destroyed hip caved in, slanting my entire body to the side as I hit the last step, throwing off my balance. My heart sank, fear gripping my chest in a vice. There was too much momentum for me to stop.

I jumped off the roof with all the grace of a drunk baboon. Sinon's eyes went wide, reaching her arm out to catch me. I reached out as far as I could, stomach lurching as the pull of gravity ran its course, until an iron grip seized my hand with bone-crushing force and I swung down like a pendulum, nearly smacking into the building's wall.

"Hold on, don't let go." she said through gritted teeth as I dangled beneath her. Right then, we both heard the voices coming from the rooftops and moment later, five of Krieger's men appeared with their guns drawn.

"Right there, right there! Don't let them escape!"

I drew Charon and fired twice. Both shots missed their mark and I pulled the trigger again only to have it click empty in response.

"Ah crap!" I spat in frustration. Charon was powerful, and it got me out of more sticky situations than I could count, but the one thing it lacked was ammo capacity. I fired all six shots and now I was helpless.

Krieger's men seemed to notice because they fired back in kind, unleashing an utter barrage of lead. But none of them hit me. Rather, they were all aiming above me. At Sinon. Red spots covered her body. I watched helplessly as her health dropped from yellow, down to red as she struggled to pull me up against the unending gunfire.

And then, just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I saw him. The player with the rocket launcher.

He knelt down and took aim. Fire and smoke exploded from its barrel and a flash of light came streaking towards us.

I holstered Charon and acted without thinking. I grabbed the wrist of the hand holding me with my free arm and yanked Sinon down so hard she let go of the balcony and we plummeted into the streets below.

Heat engulfed my entire body. Stars flooded my vision. The sheer shockwave rattled my bones like a tuning fork and would have reduced my guts to liquid in the real world. High-pitched ringing flooded my ears as the explosion devastated everything above us, and yet somehow through it all, I kept hold on Sinon's wrist as I pulled her into a tight hug to protect her as we fell. It felt like an eternity, yet almost immediately, my back hit the ground hard and I cried out as I beared the full brunt of the impact with Sinon lying on top of me.

I opened my eyes just in time to see hundreds of rocks and debris from the blast falling towards us. Because Lady Luck _really_ wanted to rub salt in the wounds.

"For the love of-!" I wrapped me arms around Sinon again and rolled the both of us over so that her smaller frame was underneath my own as I braced for the worst. I bit my tongue to keep from making a sound as tiny pebbles and chunks of rock the size of a basketball pounded against my beaten body. One struck the back of my head and the blow almost made me knock my forehead against Sinon's by accident.

Suddenly the rain of rubble ended as quickly as it started. Agonizing seconds ticked on by, but once I was sure the dust had settled, I struggled to move my arms out from under her and drew back just enough to see Sinon's face. She stared back at me in shock, her mouth slightly open. I didn't notice until now to notice how close we were, how our faces were nearly touching and warmth began trickling up my neck.

She was really, _really_ soft.

Sinon fixed me with a flustered glare and struggled to get some kind of half-finished words out before she ultimately settled with shoving me off of her. A cloud of dust mushroomed up as I hit the ground. I flinched as some of my injuries protested with a dull throbbing. Damn. For a petite girl, she had an almost superhuman amount of strength.

She picked herself up, re-adjusting her muffler until the tight frown on her face disappeared behind it. Her health in the corner of my vision was still dangerously low, but she was still alive at least. "Are you alright?" she asked. I propped myself up on my elbows and wiped the dirt and sweat off my face. I made a mental note to take a shower when this was all over. Virtual or not, I _really_ needed it.

"Never better," I replied. Sinon knelt down over me, carefully running a hand over my shoulders and chest. I winced when she grazed another gunshot wound and she quietly apologized.

"Don't take it personally. I'm...just not used to having people that close to me," she said. I nodded. I knew well enough that Sinon preferred to keep people at arm's length. It took me a long time to even be able to coax more than a few clipped responses from her when we started talking. Social butterfly, she was not.

"Eh, don't worry about it. Better than having you punch my teeth down to my intestines," I said while looking away from her to avoid the chance of blushing. At this point, I'd take anything to distract from that.

"Going somewhere?" a voice asked.

And there it is.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. Krieger rounded the corner and stood at the mouth of the alleyway, both Desert Eagles pointed at us. Up above, the rest of his men stood watch with guns drawn. I chanced a look around us. The alley was more or less empty. Graffiti covered the walls and various bits of trash littered the floor along with an upturned dumpster. Curiously enough, no one blocked the other end of the alley that led straight into the city. We could have risked making a run for it, but with no cover and several people aiming at us, we'd be mowed down before we took two steps.

"We were just gonna to step out a bit," I said. Sinon picked herself up and knelt over me, staring daggers at him.

"I'm afraid you won't be doing that at all. There's still a chance for you to do the right thing here. I don't want to hurt you. Far from it, actually. Killing you wouldn't guarantee me anything, but if you just come with us and answer a few questions, things won't have to get any uglier," he said. He sounded sincere. I almost believed him for a moment.

"You don't want to hurt me? Well, you're doing a lousy job of it," I held a hand out at all the numerous injuries covering my body.

"I apologize but you've been putting up a fight the whole way through. We were told to expect as much," he said, "Add the fact that you had Sinon herself watching your back and I didn't want to leave anything to chance. But I digress. I'm giving you one last chance to come with us. Hand over the revolver as well. You won't be needing it anymore."

Now that was an immediate refusal. I would have considered going with them if it meant getting Sinon and I out alive, but they wanted Charon too. The one thing that kept me alive against higher-level players, powerful monsters, and other ne'er do wells intending to do me harm. I grabbed my revolver and with a swipe of my hand and a mental input into the AmuSphere, it vanished in a cloud of pixels.

"You're gonna have to pry it from my cold, dead, virtual hands, Krieger," I said, holding them up wide open and adding spirit fingers just to be flippant with him, "You can always shoot me but like you said there's no guarantee my inventory will spill out of me when I'm dead."

"I suppose not," he said. He stared at me for a moment longer then heaved a heavy sigh, "Pity. I was hoping to catch you before someone else did. Oh well, there's always next time. You'll just respawn and I'll come after you again."

"He's going to shoot," Sinon whispered to me. I stared down Krieger, doing my best to push the anxiety away while half-expecting him to blow my brains out. But then something else caught my eye, out in the grassy fields behind him. A light bulb went off over my head.

"Sinon," I replied, "Can you distract those guys up on the rooftop when I give a signal?"

She thought for a moment, then gave a subtle nod, "Where is the last plasma grenade I gave you?" she asked.

"Under my jacket, strapped to my belt right below the small of my back."

She gently lifted my jacket and took the grenade off my belt, keeping it between our bodies so that it stayed out of sight. At the same time, I swiped open my menu and tapped a single button. Krieger tensed. I could tell he was about a single thought away from killing me. I had to make myself look harmless. That's why I brought out my Azimuth Optical Sniper Rifle again and aimed it in his direction.

He narrowed his eyes and jabbed his handgun at it, "What's that for?"

"Shooting things, I think. I could be wrong though," I said.

"Do you honestly intend to kill me with that?" Krieger lifted the brim of his jacket. A silver box no larger than a cellphone was buckled to his hip, "I have a defensive shield, as do the rest of my men. That thing is useless against us."

"Yeah, I'll give you that," I peered through the scope, pressing my finger against the trigger in a deliberate motion. Krieger took a step back. The rifle's bullet line was as clear as day to the both of us, going right for his chest and shaking wildly like I never held a firearm in my life, "I'm not a great shot. Hell, I can't hit three feet in front of me with this thing. But I'll be damned if I don't do something besides admit defeat right here," I said with as much foolish bravado as I could muster.

Krieger looked at me like I was some kind of idiot. For the first time, he looked unsure of himself as he lowered his guns slightly, "You can't be serious."

I relaxed the tension in my shoulders as much as I could, took aim, and remembered everything Sinon told me. My heart pounded against my sternum and I licked my lips in nervous anticipation, "Guess we'll find out."

In the split second between pulling the trigger and firing the shot, I corrected my aim. The bullet line moved to the left and Azimuth crackled to life, spitting a small bolt of energy. The whole world seemed to slow down as it rocketed down the alley for Krieger, harsh electricity wailing as it sailed right past him and into the grassy fields beyond.

I held my breath. Some bleak part of me waited for him and his men to start shooting, but it never came. Krieger pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his head. Uncertainty still marred his face, "I admire your tenacity, but I'm afraid it won't do you any good. So are you done now?"

I grunted and threw the rifle as hard as I could. It skittered across the ground and came to a stop at his feet, "Yeah, I'm done," I muttered. That was it. That was my grand plan. I had nothing else up my sleeve and I had to accept whatever happened next whether it'd be death or the universe somehow cutting me some slack.

Either way, it was the end of the line.

"Very well then. At the very least, you know when to call it quits. There's some honor in th-"

Everyone winced when something inhuman roared like a demon from hell. It chilled me right to the bone, raised the hairs on the back of my neck as my stomach filled with a jittery nervous energy.

The chatter coming from the guys on the roof intensified as they all looked towards the source of the guttural sounds. Krieger himself looked over his shoulder and the color drained from his face as a rabid beast came charging across the open fields.

The Ignominious Wolf snarled like a frenzied monster and moved faster than a bullet in spite of its enormous size. It's grey fur was still matted down with blood and dirt and its legs pumped with sinewy muscle protected by pure white bone plates. Viscous green slobber dribbled down its sharp, gnashing teeth. One of its eyes blazed with animal fury, but the other was replaced by a pixelated gunshot wound.

I pointed a finger at Krieger and shouted at the top of my lungs, "He did it!"

Fun fact: sometimes intelligence makes someone easier to trick. Intelligent people can fill in the blanks, solve problems, make theories on the evidence available. And I watched with some small amount of satisfaction as the wolf's AI connected the dots. The Optical rifle at Krieger's feet, the wound that had come from a similar weapon, it put two and two together and decided he was the culprit.

If its sterling deduction skills wasn't enough evidence for it, Krieger decided to start shooting at its face with both pistols firing so fast they sounded like a band saw modded with nitrous. The wolf jerked its head back and let out a defiant howl as it lunged to tear the man apart, it's paw smacking him aside hard enough to bounce him off the alleyway's wall with devastating force.

I looked up at Sinon and flashed her a quick thumbs-up. Try as I might, I just couldn't draw up the willingness to wipe the smug smirk off of my face, "There's your signal. Have at it."

Sinon nodded. She drew the grenade out from between us and squeezed the detonation button hard, venting the coolant in a haze of thin smoke as she got up to her feet. Everyone on the roof was too busy saving Krieger from being Fido's next chew toy to notice her rear her arm back and throw it straight at them like a major-league baseball pitcher.

The flash of heat and light caught the attention of one of them, but all he could get out was some sputtered, half-nonsense warning before a superheated wave of plasma erupted in his face.

Sinon helped me up and together we ran away from the chaos unfolding behind us. Or at least as fast one could with dozens of injuries slowing them down. We cut through deserted streets and courtyards suffering from decades of neglect until the sounds of combat had all but disappeared. The scenery blended together faster than I could keep up with until we found ourselves at the entrance to one of Old South's destroyed subway tunnels.

Sinon unholstered her glock and led the way. Thankfully, the subway terminal was only inhabited by small harmless lizards. Every so often we passed some waist-high robots with box-shaped bodies and rubber treads for feet that asked us kindly for our tickets. We passed on by them without a word, some slowly rolling after us and begging for our cooperation under threat of a fine before giving up and returning to their posts.

Once she secured the immediate area, Sinon allowed herself to relax and dusted off a collapsed pillar to sit on, holstering her gun. She made no protest as I sat down next to her.

"Okay, so I guess we should get down right to the most pressing question on our minds, that being what the hell is going on here?" I asked, turning to her, "At this point I expect to have some people show up ready to shoot at you, but this is the first time I've been the target."

Sinon crossed her arms, brow knitted together like she was in deep in thought, "I've never seen him before and I doubt he was trying to use you to get to me."

"Another up-and-comer looking to make a name for himself maybe? He might have figured that I made for an easier mark than you did," I suggested to her while opening Charon's cylinder and dumping all the spent casings on the floor, making a pleasant _clinking_ noise as they broke apart into a dozen tiny pixelated shards. I thought the idea over, then shook my head, "No, no, he wanted to ask me questions and take my gun. Doesn't really sound like something he'd do if he was looking for fame."

"On top of that, he said that he wanted to get to you before someone else did," Sinon said. She looked over to me and clasped her hands together, "He might not be the only one coming after you. There might be more."

"Oh. Terrific," I said.

Sinon hummed in response, "Remember what he said back when he first showed up? He had intel that talked about us, how when one of us is around, the other isn't far behind."

Now that she mentioned it, Krieger did let that tidbit of information slip. On its own, it wasn't terribly helpful in figuring out why he attacked us, but it was less about what the information was and more about where it came from.

"Somebody told him about us. They pointed him in our direction and gave information to help him along in capturing me for who knows what reason," I busied my hands by inserting fresh rounds in my revolver's chambers one at a time. The thought that someone went through that much trouble just to hunt me down and take me prisoner was unnerving. If this was what Sinon went through every day, I'm surprised she didn't leave GGO for good, "Do you think an information broker is involved? I know there's a few of them around Glocken; they'll charge you an arm and a leg, but maybe Krieger can afford that sort of thing."

"An info broker, hm?" Sinon pondered for a moment while I finished reloading Charon. Minutes passed by without neither of us saying a word. Then Sinon nodded to herself and gave me a pat on the back, "Where do you live?"

"Spades Luxury Apartments, near the center of Glocken," I answered her, "Why?"

"Get out of here, go straight to your apartment, and stay there until I show up. I'll be there soon with a friend."

I hesitated slightly, but I didn't have much reason to refuse. If Sinon had an idea that would help us better understand the situation, I was all for it. Better than fumbling aimlessly for an answer until I got attacked again; I wasn't about to go gentle into that good night, "Alright, cool."

We said our goodbyes and I hoofed it back to SBC Glocken, looking over my shoulder the entire way there half-expecting to see Krieger and his gang coming at me again. Funny enough, as I walked out of Old South, I spotted the Ignominious Wolf again, body covered in gunshot wounds and a piece of its jaw gone, but the beast itself was still very much alive. I gave the wolf a thankful salute and headed on my way.

By the time I reached my apartment it was almost evening with orange rays of sunlight bleeding through my window and bathing everything in a warm glow. I set about unloading what equipment I had left, taking a moment to lament the fact that I was now missing a knife and an Optical Sniper Rifle. It was such a nice one too.

Sinon arrived nearly an hour and a half after I did. I sat at my work table testing a combination of mods to a half-finished shotgun when a chime echoed in my room alerting me to a request to enter my apartment. When I hurried to the door, Sinon's name was on the display window next to the knob and I approved it with a quick tap. Not a second later she appeared before me in her casual green jacket and grey slacks.

"Hey," she greeted me with a curt nod which I returned with a friendly smile. I stepped aside and let her in, though I almost immediately regretting doing so because I hadn't considered cleaning up the place before she came. The sheets were still as messy as I left them, my table was covered in grease, dirty rags, and piles of miscellaneous parts, and several books were lying on the ground in front of the bookshelf after I had been researching the Ignominious Wolf and hadn't bothered to put it all back.

Oh god, if she made a comment about the state of my room I'd be so mortified I'd throw myself out the window.

"H-Hey, so uh, where's — where's your friend?" I said in a vain attempt to draw her attention.

"She needed to do some research and said she'd catch up with us when she was done," she came to a stop in the middle of my room and looked around with a curious expression on her face, "I've never been in your apartment before. It's…"

"Homey?" I suggested.

"Small."

Better than a pigsty I guess.

"Yeah, well I kinda operate on a budget. Spades had a good deal going on while I was still scraping credits together to get properly outfitted. They gave me a bed, a table, and well, that was pretty much it actually. Everything else was considered a luxury," Case in point, I looked over to the corner next to the front door. It used to be empty, but thanks to Sinon's generous contribution of four-hundred thousand credits, I managed to buy myself a modest kitchenette complete with a mini-fridge, a granite countertop and kitchen island, and a working stove. There was no real need to eat in GGO, but much like everything else virtual reality had to offer, it gave people a chance to try all kinds of food from every corner of the world all without having to leave their house.

"Do you want a drink? I did say I owed you one earlier today," I asked her as I cracked open the mini fridge to look through its contents. Sinon looked up from my work table and gave me a small smile.

"Sure," she said. I grabbed two cans of soda and held one out to her as she leaned on the other side of the kitchen island.

"But seriously, thanks for sticking your neck out for me on that one," I said after popping the top and taking a quick drink. I savored the sweet and tangy flavor on my tongue for a moment before swallowing, "I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have you there watching my back."

"It was nothing," Sinon took a few sips herself, cradling the can in both hands as she look down at it.

"Nothing? Nothing is helping me finish a fetch quest or loaning me some credits to cover for ammo. I think saving me from getting taken prisoner by Krieger and his merry band ranks a little higher than nothing. Seriously, having you around seems to add a bit more time to my lifespan," I said. Sinon lightly shook her head.

"Don't sell yourself short. You handled yourself well despite being in pretty bad shape by the time it was all over. To be honest, there were a few times where I thought you were going to die," Sinon replied. She has a point. Her help aside, I only survived by the skin of my teeth because of some quick thinking and the desperate energy of good old fashioned survival instinct.

"Aww, were you worried about me?" I asked her with a knowing grin. Sinon rolled her eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," she said.

"I don't know, I kinda like the idea already," I said with a chuckle. Sinon slowly closed her eyes. I could tell she getting ready to make a scathing remark or a thinly-veiled threat, but to my surprise, she said nothing.

Instead, she looked off to the side, jaw working like she was contemplating something, then met my eyes, "But as long as we're giving thanks, I should thank you for what you did. You know, when you pulled me down to save me from the rocket and when you shielded me from all those falling rocks. It could've been much worse than what it ended up being. So...thanks."

Hearing that from her sprouted a tingly, warm sensation in my chest and I did my best not to let it show on my face. Praise was nice to get, but getting it from her of all people made me giddy with excitement.

I scratched the side of my neck in a fit of nervousness. When we were nearly annihilated by the rocket, but I had just done what came naturally to me, what was the right thing to do. She was my friend and someone I cared about. I knew she could handle herself, but if it ever came down to it, I'd protect her as best as I could. And I hoped she'd do the same for me.

"Hey, that's what partners are for, right? Watching each other's backs, saving them from kidnapping plots, swinging them around from the roof so they can shoot _upside down_ ," I said. Sinon actually giggled at that. I couldn't resist doing the same. The sound of her voice when she laughed was so...pleasant to hear, "We make a pretty good team, Sinon."

"I suppose so," she said, then added with a teasing tone, "You're not terrible at least."

Hissing in mock-hurt, I placed a hand over my chest, "Ouch, that one stung a little."

"You'll be fine," Sinon said after taking another long drink. I stared down at my own can, biting my lip slightly as a tight feeling knotted in my chest. I felt the urge to say something else and before I knew it, it came out.

"Sinon?"

She hummed in response. I lifted my can up and held it out in front of me.

"To our continued partnership?"

She blinked. Her eyes jumped from me, to the countertop, then back again and we stared at each other for a long time. For a moment I worried that maybe she didn't feel the same way, but then with the barest hint of a smile, she slowly raised her can and bumped it against my own, "To our continued partnership."

I smiled back at her. And the warm feeling in my chest raged on.


	5. Headhunters: Chapter 5

**So here's a bit of a shorter chapter to balance out that behemoth of one earlier. Also, now I've got a good idea where to take this, I've decided to give this 'arc' and all the future ones a title just to make organizing them and telling them apart a bit easier. But anyways, thanks again for the support you guys and I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 5

When the chime sounded to alert me to a new request, I took two languid steps over to the door and checked the name. There were a handful of info brokers I knew by reputation in GGO. Xiggy sold info at prices so absurd, it was nothing short of a miracle that he was still in business. Kiji was blacklisted by her fellow brokers after using their network to lure unsuspecting players to the middle of nowhere for her squad to obliterate and subsequently loot their corpses. Despite her shady history, she still had useful info about weapons and builds. And Yondu was a mousy, unassuming newbie just getting into the game. He didn't have many contacts yet, but his prices were fair and people relied on his surprisingly extensive knowledge of the game's major players.

They all had a reputation for one reason or another. I wouldn't have been surprised to see any of them requesting to come inside. But the name written on the tiny display window had me do a double take so fast that my head damn near snapped off my neck from the whiplash.

"Argo..." I looked back at Sinon, who was gazing at the glass case next to my closet that held the chassis and head of a Black Ops Military Droid I killed during a dungeon excursion. Try as I might, I couldn't stop the surprise from leaking into my voice. She must have picked up on it too, because her light blue eyes moved just enough to meet my confused gaze.

"That's her. Can you let her in?" she asked, her tone as casual as if she were asking me about the weather.

"Uh, yeah sure no problem, but um...quick question, how do you know someone like her?" I asked. Sinon fully turned around to face me and tilted her head to the side.

"We met through... a mutual friend," she said, "I already paid her and she's trustworthy if that's what you're worried about. She helped me find the keycard we gave to Ikuchi."

Oh, I was far from worried. Of all the information brokers I knew, Argo may have been the most connected and prominent. Calling her the gold standard would have been an understatement. Her penchant for information gathering was second to none. She'd be able to tell you where exotic weapons were located along with their drop rates, the location of secret bosses and dungeons, give a 'who's who' of every squad in the game, and even tell you the loadout of a particular player, right down to the underwear they wore.

And that was just in Gun Gale. Word on the street was that Argo had a finger in every notable VRMMO, expanding her web of knowledge and influence even further to the point where there were rumors floating around that she was secretly working for the Japanese Government in order to keep tabs on the growing trend of Full-Dive technology. It was all nonsense of course. She just happened to be very skilled at her job, no more, no less.

At least that's what I told myself.

"Right, right. If she's cool with you, then there's no reason to refuse," I said, "And Sinon? Thanks for covering the fee for me."

Sinon smiled back at me, "Think nothing of it."

I accepted the request and took a few steps away from the door. I scanned my room and idly wondered if Argo would be able the glean everything about me just from taking a look around. I shivered at the thought.

A soft flash of light came from my door and out stepped a girl with shaggy blonde hair framing a cute, round face. She was shorter than I expected at about five foot nothing and wore a mustard yellow mechanic's top with a matching skirt that reached down to her mid-thigh, which were covered with black tights and a pair of knee-high brown boots. And to complete the ensemble were the bright red whisker marks on her cheeks. Her signature look.

Argo took in the sight of my living quarters, cocked an eyebrow at me, and with all the finesse of a forklift, asked in a nasally voice, "Why's it look like a bear trashed your apartment?"

Ow, my pride.

"I've been busy. Considering everything that happened today, I'm not exactly in the right state of mind to be doing some housekeeping," I said, holding out an open hand to her, "Nice to meet you, though. Argo the Rat, right? I've heard about you."

"Guess my reputation precedes me. Sinon gave me a shout that you were inta somethin' deep. Some real nasty lookin' characters came and gave ya a black eye or two from what she said," Argo shook my hand with a grin, clearly amused by the whole thing. I wanted to downplay it, but hey, what's wrong with a little showboating?

"If I got a black eye, you should see the other guys," I scoffed.

"From what I heard, there ain't much left of them to look at," Argo snickered. She rubbed her chin as she circled around me, looking me up and down like someone appraising a painting, "Gotta say, I didn't think Sinon would be gettin' herself another partner so soon, but color me surprised when I found out she did. How'd you two even come across each other? Did he ask ya out?"

I stifled a laugh and hoped they didn't notice the dopey smile on my face.

"It wasn't like that, Argo," Sinon crossed her arms as she came up to the both of us, "We were in different parties that ran into each other out in the wastelands."

I scoffed and tossed a knowing glance at her. "Ran into each other, she says. More like your party started gunning down mine without warning. It was a miracle your squad didn't kill me."

"Anyways," Sinon held her hands up. "Did you find anything useful, Argo?"

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't," Argo glanced at the kitchenette in my room, "Would ya mind gettin' me somethin' to drink? This's gonna be a bit of a story."

Once I handed her a can of soda, we all settled around the granite kitchen island. Argo had her menu open as she scrolled through pages and pages of what I assumed to be her own personal notes. Paragraphs of GGO info were broken up by graphs, maps, and different kinds of data tables. Just half of what I saw could fill up a couple novels.

"So yer buddy Krieger runs the Omega Sirius squad. Ain't much to write about him though. They're good, but they're mostly just dungeon crawlers who take other jobs when their interest gets piqued. Yours was one of them," Argo tipped the can and took two long gulps. "Heh, that's good stuff."

The squad name didn't ring any bells, but if what Argo said was true, then there had to have been something very tempting for them to start coming after me. I had been trying to keep my head down in GGO for a while. I didn't have a squad or a large circle of friends to watch my back, making me a perfect target for player hunters and the like. I grunted and rested my arms on the countertop, "Krieger said that other people could be after me. Plus, he had intel on Sinon and I, filled us both full of holes thanks to that. Oh and he wanted my gun. That was the worst part."

"Nyehe, ya hear that Sinon? Looks like he cares more about that gun than you."

Oh crap, "Hey, don't twist my words like that."

"Yer words. Not mine," Argo said with a snicker.

If Sinon was annoyed, she didn't show it, "So what would it take for a team like Krieger's to start coming after him?"

"Now that's the question, isn't it? Fortunately, I got the answer you've been lookin' for," Argo crossed her arms and turned slightly to face me, "I'll ask ya this one thing, though. Did you know that as of this mornin' there's been a bounty placed on your head?"

Well shit.

I stared back at Argo in shock, mind reeling from the question, blinking once, twice. It felt like someone had punched me in the gut and it took everything I had not to curse out loud, "N-No, no I didn't know that. Hell, I didn't even know you _could_ put bounties on people."

"Ya can't. Not officially anyways. It ain't somethin' that's sanctioned by the devs," Argo explained, "It sprang up from the culture surroundin' GGO 'n' its spread mostly by word of mouth from info broker to bounty hunters. Somebody who's got their sights set on a particular player tells us the details, then we pass it along to the guys who might be interested in exchange for a tidy cut. It was a piece of cake findin' out the details on yours.

Argo narrowed her eyes and her toothy grin seemed to stretch a few degrees wider, "Brace yourself. Right now, the price on your head's sittin' at one million credits."

If I had been drinking, I would have done one of those comically overblown spit-takes, "Are you serious? That's insane!"

Argo shrugged like it didn't mean a thing to her, "That's part of the game you're playing. Make the wrong people angry 'n' they'll move mountains to get back at ya."

Sinon turned to me with a soft expression, "Do you remember the job for Ikuchi you helped me with? That was technically a bounty. Since people just respawn when they die, they're usually used to take an item from a player instead of killing them."

"It's sabotage, basically. But in your particular case, they were lookin' to take back what _you_ had snatched, not the other way around," Argo added.

I furrowed my brow. That was news to me. I wracked my brain trying to think of anything I could have possibly stolen that warranted a manhunt on me but nothing came to mind. Argo leaned forward as she watched my pensive expression, "Ya want a hint?"

"Please," I responded.

"They're lookin' for a keycard ya took. Ring any bells?"

Yeah, a pretty big one. I sucked in a breath. There was only one keycard in recent memory that I had dealt with. Sinon shut her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, "Of course it leads back to that."

"Now you're gettin' it," Argo grinned. "The bounty came from a player goin' by the name of Gozu. He's part of the Yokai Squadron, and three guesses who their leader is."

"It's Ikuchi," Sinon answered as she turned to me. "He put a bounty on you to take an item we already gave him, but hardly any bounty hunter is going to look too deep into that. Especially with that many credits being waved around."

Which meant that I'd be constantly attacked by players who didn't know the truth. Fantastic. How many more like Krieger would I have to face? Was I going to have to fight through dozens? _Hundreds_? I'd be under assault by every player looking to ruin my day and earn credits while doing it. Because of course they would. There were only three things certain in life: Death, Taxes, and Griefers.

"I s'pose there's one other thing I oughta tell ya," Argo said, "The keycard is only one part of the bounty. There's a bonus too. That revolver ya carry around everywhere? That would net a lucky guy about another seven hundred thousand."

I cursed under my breath; the weight of Charon in my shoulder harness suddenly felt ten times heavier. That's why Krieger wanted my gun. Without it, I could kiss my chances of survival goodbye. I was no slouch when it came to levels, but there were people in GGO that were running around ever since the game first launched. If I didn't have Charon to protect myself, or worse if my bounty got their attention…

Safe to say I was in for a world of trouble if I didn't get rid of the target on my back. Even if I didn't have the keycard, there were still plenty of people that would settle for taking my gun and the reward that came with it, which was probably what Ikuchi was counting on. The bastard.

"And if they manage to take Charon from me, the keycard would pretty much ensure I'd be attacked long after the fact," I ran a hand through my hair, "But there's gotta be a point to this, right? I mean, let's assume I get killed over and over again. People are going to start catching on that I don't have it. So what's Ikuchi's plan here, to — to distract me? To screw around with me or just generally make my time here a pain in the ass?"

"Well, 'fraid I can't tell ya that one. He's been hush-hush ever since the bounty got posted. Pretty sure he ain't even been online for the past few days," Argo replied. I swallowed in a careful attempt to contain the frustration simmering in my chest.

"So we'll have to ask this Gozu guy then," I said, "Preferably before I get my ticket punched."

"Do you know where he is, Argo?" Sinon asked.

"He moves around a lot so it's gonna take a little legwork to give ya an answer. But don't worry, I'll figure it out. Hell, I'd be able to tell ya if he's slinkin' around in another game," she said. Closing out her menu, she tapped a finger against her chin, "Though I gotta make sure the info's accurate. Don't wanna send ya to the wrong place and all that."

"That's why we pay you the big bucks, Argo" I said. She crossed her arms and a wolfish smile spread across her face.

"Don't go tempting me now," she said, giggling as she sauntered towards the door. Just before she left though, she turned back around, "Oh, and Sinon? Just between us girls, I thought I should let ya know somethin'. The others have been noticin' that you don't come around as often as ya used to. Asu-chan's gettin' kinda worried about ya. Kii-boy too."

Sinon's eyes drifted away to a lonely corner of my apartment as flickers of some kind of emotion I couldn't pinpoint passed over her face. The blank expression she always wore turned into a light frown and her eyes bore that same wistful look she had a few days ago. I wasn't an expert on body-language, far from it really, but I couldn't describe it as anything other than sadness.

Or longing.

"Thank you, Argo," her tone was stiff, like she was trying to force the words out. "I'm fine. I just needed to take a break from ALO for a bit and have some time for myself."

"Yeah, yeah, I get ya. Things can get kinda hectic around Kii-boy, huh? S'only natural ya'd like to have some peace 'n' quiet sometimes," Argo said in a cheery tone, either unaware of Sinon's change in mood or deciding to leave it alone. "Well, I'll get outta your hair. Expect a call from me in a few days, m'kay?"

Argo left my apartment with a lazy wave of her hand, leaving Sinon and I alone once again. I turned to face her, but she was still staring off at nothing, lightly tapping a fist against the countertop. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to break the silence, but the words wouldn't come. "So...you used to play ALO, huh?"

Sinon's eyes met mine for barely a second before they wandered away again.

"For a while. Some of my friends introduced it to me after the...Death Gun incident. It helped keep my mind off everything that happened, and I met some really wonderful people too," She rubbed the bottom of her eyelid with a single finger. Her lips twitched slightly like she didn't know whether or not to smile. "Even if it was only for a while, I'm thankful for them. It was the happiest I had been in...forever, really."

"Wow, those people must mean a lot to you," I said. Sinon nodded.

"They've done so much for me. More than they'll ever know. If it wasn't for them I don't know where I'd be," she said.

It was times like these that reminded me that for all her strength and determination, Sinon still had her struggles, fights she had faced all by herself for who knows how long, taking one obstacle down only for a new one to take its place. It didn't matter how tough a person was, eventually that sort of thing would wear them down, take them apart piece by piece until nothing was left.

And Sinon faced down literal death. I had no illusions that she did it without a problem either. People panic when faced with their own mortality. Survivors of attempted murder, natural disasters, or fatal accidents have nightmares for months after, if not forever. Nobody walks out of it without a scar or two. When your life's on the line, the memory is seared into your brain forever.

I knew that. I knew it well enough and so did she. But at the end of the day, Sinon had the support of her friends. She didn't have to face those things alone anymore, and to her, that may as well have been worth more than anything else in the world.

"Well for what it's worth, I'm glad they were there for you," I said with a grin.

"Me too."

I stayed quiet out of respect, but an errant thought wandered into my mind. She said she was happy in ALO. With no one trying to hunt her down and being surrounded by friends who clearly cared for her, it was no surprise. Which made it all the more odd why she left, why she went back to GGO all by herself without so much as a word to those she left behind. Grabbing the half-full can of soda still in front of me, I swirled it around and before I could stop myself, I asked, "So why'd you leave?"

"You heard what I told Argo, didn't you? I just needed a break," she said. Her voice straddled the line between irritation and defensiveness. I set the can down and stared at her.

"I don't think either of us buy that, Sinon. Did something happen?"

"Don't," Sinon met my stare with an angry frown, her shoulders trembling "It's none of your business."

"Sinon, I-"

"Just. Stop."

I kept my mouth shut. The acidity in her glare was different than what I was used to. My lips parted slightly but the words were stuck in my throat.

Sinon raised a hand up and wiped at her face, like she was trying to get rid of something that wasn't there. When she spoke again, she sounded distant, her voice strained like a steel wire on the verge of snapping.

"Look, I-I have to go," was all she said. Then she headed towards the door and disappeared without so much as a glance in my direction.

I sighed and crossed my room to peer out the window, leaning my forearm against it and pressing my forehead on the sleeve of my jacket. A heavy sigh rumbled from deep in my throat. A part of me wanted to press the issue, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She wanted to be alone, to throw up the walls she had built when we first met and shut herself out. Trying to break them down right now would make things worse, despite how much I wanted to.

I pushed off the window and collapsed into a heap on my bed. There wasn't much I could do other than that. The only thing left for me was to wait for Argo to finish her research and point me in the direction of Gozu so I could have a nice civil chat with him. As for Sinon…

It seemed like she had a new struggle to overcome.

Grimacing, I turned over onto my side. Blue light spilled over my face as I opened up my menu, thumbed the log out button, and felt my consciousness slip away from my avatar.


	6. Headhunters: Chapter 6

**Finally managed to put this one out. Sorry about the wait. Not only did I have a touch of writer's block, this chapter ended up being longer than I thought. But hey, here it is, and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you again for the support everyone!**

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Chapter 6

Desert heat sucks. The AmuSphere is capable of replicating over a thousand different sensations with more being added every day, but not a single one of them made me want to peel my own skin off quite like the flame-broiling air of Solitary Sands. It's overbearing, unrelenting, and akin to giving a piggyback ride to a furnace.

The vent I was hiding in didn't make things any easier. Every inch of rusted metal around me had been roasting under the tortuous sun for hours. I felt like I had been stuffed in an oven with its dial broken off after being turned up to eleven.

"Dude, are you blind are something?"

"Nah, nah, I'm serious. I swear I saw him running around on this level."

The voices bounced off the metal walls of the hallway outside. I looked up at the metal grate a few feet away from me. They were faint, but little by little, they grew louder, more clear.

"We've searched this entire damn ship up and down. I bet you he's already gone."

I swallowed some saliva to ease the dryness in my throat and pulled myself forward, trying and failing to bend me knees to help me along. Despite what the video games of yesteryear would have you believe, vents are cramped, dark, and not at all easy to maneuver in. I found that out the hard way after I got halfway inside one to escape a gunfight gone sour. I had second thoughts about forcing myself in, but the bounty hunters were on my tail and my options were to either die or practice my best imitation of a sardine in a can.

The worst part was I never caught how many people were hunting for me or if they were heavily armed. Never even got the chance. They ambushed me when I came to Solitary Sands in search of a treasure cache hidden in the lake bed, where the only cover was the ancient luxury cruise ship I now found myself hiding in, and they followed me every step of the way, firing wildly in my direction and demanding I surrender lest I get a thorough beating.

It goes without saying that I kindly turned down their offer and had been running around this ship ever since.

Six were dead now. I took them by surprise, laid traps where I could, and isolated a couple from the main group to finish them off in a quick exchange of bullets. Not bad for someone who was fighting them all on his own.

"Just humor me, would you? Worst case is that we don't find him and we keep searching like before."

Jutting bolts and shards of metal dug into my sides as I dragged myself in front of the grate and peeked outside. Directly in front of me was a corroded steel wall with a shattered porthole in the center, giving me a small view of the desolate landscape outside. The ship had been marooned after the lake that used to be here dried out centuries ago, leaving nothing but flat, sandy terrain for nearly a mile around.

Footsteps came from my right and I craned my neck to the side until it started hurting. I barely saw two players wearing generic uniforms and body armor come around the corner, both holding shotguns with bayonets affixed to their barrels. The player closest to me swept his gun from side to side and continued down the hall. I couldn't afford to jump out in a surprise attack now. It would have been suicide. Shotguns plus close quarters equals a very dead me.

The legs of the first player passed the vent I hid in. My heart raced with anticipation. Once the second one walked by, I'd have a chance to catch them off guard. I just had to be quick, confident, and flawless.

Tall order.

Once the second player passed, I hooked my fingers through the gaps on the grate and gently pushed it off and slid it aside on the ground before crawling out. Neither of them noticed me or heard the grate come undone, much to my relief. I rose up to my full height and reached for the pearl grips of the silver pistol strapped to my thigh. It was an Oroshi Nine, a GGO original. I didn't bring Charon much with me these days. It sat in my storage crate back at the apartment, away from prying hands. The bounty hunters could kill me as much as they wanted, but they wouldn't get diddly squat. Wasn't going to stop them from looking for a keycard I didn't have, but hey, small victories.

I aimed at the second player's unarmored legs and the pistol barked twice, burying red hot lead into the back of his knees. He howled in sudden pain and his legs gave out from under him just as his friend whirled around to see what was going on. Neither were fast enough. I charged towards them and kicked the falling bounty hunter into his friend before either of them could react. They tumbled to the floor in a heap, cursing and pushing each other's limbs aside trying to get up again.

"Sorry to leave so soon. Here's a parting gift," Both of them stared wide eyed as I brought up a frag grenade and yanked the pin free, "No take backsies."

I lobbed it at them and ran down the opposite side of the hall, away from their frantic screams that only lasted a couple of seconds before a deafening explosion shook the entire corridor and silenced them for good.

I dug a finger in my ear as I rounded the corner. The ringing droned on for what felt like hours, sending tiny vibrations through my skull like it was filled with bees . Even when it died down, I struggled to hear anything outside my own breathing and the _tink-tink-tink_ of superheated metal.

By the time, my hearing came back to me, the hallway remained silent. Well, in its own way. The ship's steel frame still creaked. Wind howled through every little crack and crevice. But beyond that, there wasn't the sound of another player lurking the halls, wondering what the noise was and where it came from. There were no groans of pain signaling a survivor either.

I allowed myself a small sigh, but I didn't let my guard down I had to soldier on.

After checking my pistol's magazine and gathering my nerve, I pushed open a nearby bulkhead door and entered the ship's stairwell, heading upwards towards the main deck as I opened my menu and equipped an MP7 I had held onto since I first started playing GGO. It was small, lightweight, and packed a hell of a punch for its size. Perfect for the cramped corridors of the ship I was in. I kept it trained above me, taking one slow step after another.

Step after step, I walked. The dim lighting in the stairwell made it nearly impossible to make out anything a few dozen feet above me. The lightbulbs bolted to the walls were either burnt out or missing altogether. A few here and there were still lit. Barely. But it was better than nothing.

"Okay, get away from the ship, sprint like crazy out of the lake bed, hope like hell that I don't get shot in the back, then hide in my apartment until the heat dies down. Good plan. Solid plan," I muttered to myself, "No way this'll go wro-"

Sparks suddenly erupted near my head accompanied by rapid gunfire. Needle-like sensations stabbed at my right shoulder and arm, dropping my health down to a quarter. I almost dropped my gun from the sudden damage, but I barely managed to keep a grip on it while putting my back against the wall, "Fuck, spoke too soon," I hissed. Rapid footsteps climbed up the stairs beneath me, interrupted with a few short bursts of an automatic weapon to keep me pinned down. I slid down the wall into a crouch, taking one hesitant step after another until I could peek down the shaft of the stairwell.

Two more players were working their way up to me, one with an assault rifle, the other with a shotgun. I backed off as the former fired again, waiting until he stopped before I popped back out and retaliated with short, controlled bursts to keep them from honing in on me. They retreated back down the stairs to take cover, but I couldn't stay at my position for long. If I didn't move, I'd be pinned down long enough for the shotgunner to get in close and pulverize me.

So that's what I did. I hurried up the stairs, keeping my head down to avoided another hailstorm of lead. Frustrated shouts came from below along with another string of gunshots that peppered the metal wall behind me, forcing me to move faster.

When I reached the top of the stairs, a single metal bulkhead door was waiting for me. I didn't hesitate to run at it.

In hindsight, I really should have.

I shoved the door open with my shoulder and the sunlight blinded me momentarily as I ran out. I barely had enough time to react to the two figures suddenly appearing before me with their weapons drawn and skidded to a stop.

"Well whaddya know? Turns out all we had to do was wait for him to come to us instead of spending an hour looking for him,"one of them said. He was a bald, muscular man wearing a tight black shirt, shoulder harness, and desert camo trousers, the UMP he carried looked heavily modified with an optical scope, extended mag, suppressor, laser sight, and a partridge in a pear tree.

"If you wanted to see me that badly, you could have just called," I took a step back. The smirk on his face made my skin crawl.

"Funny. But it looks like you're out of tricks to pull. We got you right where we want you," he said. The door behind me slammed open and the two players chasing me came through, aiming their guns at my back.

Sometimes I feel like life has a vendetta against me or something.

"Buddy, this wouldn't be the first time people thought they had me over a barrel. Usually it's before they eat a mouthful of lead too," I growled in a desperate attempt to seem threatening.

"Well seeing as we got a number of guns being pointed at your head, I figure you're at a bit of a disadvantage if you start shooting," The girl next to him said. She was a little on the shorter side and wore tactical gear reminiscent of a riot cop. Her fiery red hair was pulled into a bun and topped off with a black baseball cap. I didn't recognize the shotgun she had in her hands, but it looked dangerous enough to take my head off along with half my torso.

She was right too. They'd gun me down in no time flat if I tried anything. No way around it; it was pure fact. But funny enough, I wasn't worried. I'd been in rougher patches before. When Krieger came down on me with nearly twenty players, I not only survived, but also killed a chunk of his men in the process. I couldn't panic too much. I passed up plenty of opportunity to panic already.

I couldn't tell you whether that was impressive or just sad.

"You're not wrong," I admitted to him.

"Glad to see you recognize the situation you're in. So how's about you drop your weapons?" he asked. I swallowed the crass words climbing up my throat and did as he said, tossing my MP7 to the side, then reached into my jacket and threw my Oroshi Nine in the opposite direction.

"Wait, where's that revolver of yours? That's worth just as much as that keycard you stole," he said.

"Taking the day off," I replied with a shrug. Baldy shot me a flat look which I met it with an equally bored one. He held the eye contact for a moment longer then turned to look at the girl behind him.

"Hey, your squad hasn't checked in yet. What the hell is taking them so long?" he asked.

"They died ten minutes ago. I'm the only one left." the girl said, the intensity in her glare was hard to miss.

"Seriously? This guy took out your entire crew? How the hell did you manage that?" he asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders again, "People die when they are killed."

The girl made a disgusted noise, "The others were right. This guy really doesn't know when to shut up. It's insulting that he managed to kill as many of our guys as he did."

"An entire goddamn team," Baldy shook his head. "For god's sake, I thought joining forces with you guys would be overkill."

I raised a brow. So they were teaming up now? Aw shucks. I ordered one group of bounty hunters and they gave me two.

Admittedly, I guess it was only a matter of time. These guys weren't the first, second, or even the third group to come after me. Almost every time I entered a zone for the past week, I had to either evade or kill a squad of players looking to hunt me down. I managed to survive so far, but now they were adapting their strategies, working together, coordinating their attacks, getting better. Which meant I had to do the same.

But first, I had to find a way out of my current mess.

The sun hung high above us. No chance of hiding in shadows. And a straight fight would be about as healthy as sucking exhaust from a tailpipe.

I looked around the area for anything I could work to my advantage. To my right and left, a little behind me, were a pair of staircases that led to what I assume was an observation deck of sorts. The main deck we were on had several ruined couches lining the edge with a massive pool drained of its water a few dozen meters away from me. Behind that was a bar with a long wooden countertop. All in all, it was what you would expect from a luxury liner.

"Hey," Baldy called, pointing his UMP at me again, "let's not wait around any longer. Hand over the keycard."

I cursed under my breath. I didn't see a good way out of this, not with so many people aiming at me. A distraction was sorely needed. Good news, I had a single trick up my sleeve to make one. Bad news, there was no guarantee it'd save my skin. But hey, what's life without a little adventure?

With a slow nod of my head, I reached into my jacket and wrapped my fingers around a certain item.

"Fine. It ain't worth carrying this thing around anyways. It's given me nothing but grief the second I got it. You can have it," I said. A voracious smile spread across Baldy's face. He stepped closer, one hand outstretched to take it from me.

In the blink of an eye, I pulled out a grey sphere the size of my palm. I pushed the detonator button with my thumb and the grenade gave a mechanical whine as I held it down, "But you're gonna have to work for it."

Baldy's eyes widened and he backed away a few feet. His gun shook in his hands, teeth grinding as he snarled at me, "You son of a bitch."

"Just making things interesting," I said, waving the grenade over my head, "Here's the deal, I keep the card in my breast pocket just in case something like this happens. You can try and take it, but once I let go of the button you'll have about three seconds to run over here, fight me off long enough to grab it, and run as fast as you can before the grenade vaporizes everything in a ten meter radius. You that confident?"

"Crap, what do we do?" the girl whispered.

"Could always let me go. You can come after me another day, right? Maybe the odds will be in your favor then," I suggested.

"Th-that's…" the girl mumbled. For a while, none of us said anything. I chewed on my tongue, doing my best to hide the nervousness creeping up my chest.

"Looks like we're at an impasse," I said.

The girl nodded ever so slightly. She lowered her shotgun and took a small step towards a clearly irritated Baldy, "Hey, maybe we should back off. Nobody's gonna win like this."

"Fat chance of that! We busted our asses tracking this guy down, so like hell am I letting him slip through our fingers now that we have him surrounded," his trigger finger trembled. I couldn't help but wince slightly, expecting a bullet to hit me in the face. I could hear the two players behind me shuffle in place. The girl and I traded glances with one another, uncertainty etched on her features. I could tell what they were all thinking. They were weighing their options. How many people would die if they fired at me right now? What would they have to do to make sure the keycard wasn't destroyed? It stalled them, kept them from doing anything too rash.

I guess it was up to me then.

"What a shame," I said. And the grenade slipped from my hand.

It bounced off the ground twice, then its whine reached a fever pitch.

Everyone backpedaled as fast as they could, cursing and scrambling for any kind of cover. All except for the girl. She stared at the grenade in the span of a heartbeat then at me with a bewildered expression. Then she charged, shouting at the top of her lungs, "It's a smoke grenade!"

Well, too late.

A thick, grey cloud engulfed everything around me. I ducked down and dove to the side as the girl's shotgun roared a few feet away from me, decimating the ground where I stood not a second ago. I rolled to my feet and avoided the bullet lines as she fired wildly into the obscuring smoke.

"Goddamn it!" Baldy shouted. A second scattering of bullet lines joined the first and I dropped to the ground to avoid catching a stray bullet in the endless maelstrom of lead. I scampered on my hands and knees, feeling the air ripple and shriek as shotgun shells and .45 ACP rounds alike flew a few inches over me.

A pair of frantic voices caught my attention. I moved towards them until I spotted two silhouettes through the smoke, pacing from side to side as if they were uncertain whether or not to jump in. I got up, ignoring the bullet hitting me in the thigh, and jumped through.

It was the two that chased me up the stairwell and I must have scared the hell out of them because they both yelped and fumbled with their weapons. I closed in on the one with the shotgun as he let out a panicked shout trying to bring his gun to bear. The shotgun barely made it up to his stomach before I grabbed the barrel and shoved the entire thing straight at his gut. A weak puff of air left his lips as he doubled over.

The nape of his neck was exposed. With a quick, smooth motion I pulled my combat knife out from its sheath on my belt and jammed the blade into the spot where his neck met his head. The knife tore through muscle and slid through vertebrae with a wet crunch and I wrenched the blade to the left, red pixels pouring out like a fountain until the blade cut free from his neck. His death was instant.

"Motherfucker!" the second player cried out. I moved quickly and grabbed the pistol strapped to the thigh of the dead man. I pulled the trigger over and over, dumping the entire magazine into his friend, red pixels bursting from his chest. He dropped dead without a sound and disappeared in a burst of shards of light. The body slumped against me did the same.

I took a deep breath, and turned ready to face a new threat. But nobody came. In fact, the gunfire had stopped. Nobody was shouting or barking orders; nothing but dead silence remained.

The smoke cloud started dissipating to the point where I saw three people standing inside it. Two were on the ground, one lying down and the other sitting, the third person…

The third person glared at me with her icy blue eyes.

"Sinon…" I muttered. She didn't reply back. I didn't expect her to. We hadn't seen each other ever since she left my apartment a week ago after our little falling out. There were a few times where she went online to play GGO or, on occasion, ALO, but not once did I hear from her. I didn't hold it against her, of course. She needed space. I still wanted to talk to her, but now that she was standing right in front of me, I didn't know what to say.

The person lying on the ground, who I now recognized as Baldy, groaned and reached for his UMP just a foot away from him. Sinon turned on her heel, brandished her Glock, and gunned him down without so much as blinking. Then she turned around and took aim at the girl who had caught on to my trick. Her hair bun had come undone and cascaded down her back. Several bright red spots dotted her chest and legs and in her hands she cradled her shotgun. Or what was left of it. The entire thing was snapped in half and its receiver was falling apart, like a certain someone had put a sniper bullet through it.

I covered the distance between us. Sinon didn't take her eyes off the girl or utter a word, but the subtle way she tensed up the closer I came spoke volumes.

"Hey, ease up a bit, would you? She's not a threat anymore," I placed my hand over her pistol and gently lowered it down. Sinon resisted at first, but ultimately the gun fell to her side. I nodded in thanks and crouched down in front of the girl, making sure I kept a harmless look on my face.

"Look, this has been going on nonstop for a week. I don't care how much you're being paid to make a nuisance of yourself, it isn't worth it. I mean, you already lost a good gun there," I pointed at the destroyed mess in her hands, "Don't risk whatever else you got in your inventory by coming after me. I don't need that kind of guilt, y'know? Find better work instead because guess what? I don't have that damn keycard." I took a breath and averted my gaze to the floor. When I looked back up, the hard stare I gave her almost made her wince, "But if you don't believe me...if you insist of taking me down, I won't hold back. Team up with whoever you want, it doesn't matter who they are, they won't touch me. Itsuki, Bazalt Joe, hell, you can throw The Pink Devil at me if you want to, but I'll always make it out alive, and I'll use every little trick in the book to do it. You got that?"

The girl stared at me for a long minute and nodded, "Fine, message received. I hated working with those guys anyways," She got up to her feet and brought her menu out with a pinch and drag of her fingers. After a few taps, her destroyed shotgun disappeared.

"Yeah...can't say I blame you," I watched as she strode over to the edge of the main deck. She gave me one final look back before hopping over the handrail and disappearing somewhere down in the lake bed below.

When I turned back around, Sinon was looking away from me, her arms crossed in a tight knot. I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Our eyes met briefly, but Sinon broke the contact and went back to examining the very interesting floor. In turn, I tugged the collar of my undershirt several times to cool off from the heat. I tried to think of something to say. Hell, I half a mind to blurt out some stupid joke just to lighten the mood. Sure she'd probably hit me but I'd be willing to endure that if it meant she'd look me in the eye again when she did it.

"So, uh, you're not here to collect the bounty on my head are you?" I pressed the tips of my index fingers together. Sinon closed her eyes and sighed.

"No."

"Oh...cool. Very cool."

Great job, me. You got one whole word out of her. I wish you would have tried more than not at all.

"What are you still doing here?" It took me a moment to register that she was talking to me.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Here, in GGO. You have all these people coming after you all the time. You'd be better off staying away," Sinon said. She had a point too. I was doing nothing but risking my own neck every time I logged on. Sure, I didn't have Charon or a keycard on me to lose, but those weren't the only things worth taking in my inventory. There were things like guns, treasures, some rare components, stuff I'd probably shed a tear or two over if I lost them.

Speaking of, I looked around for my discarded weapons and started picking them up, grabbing my MP7 first and giving it a quick check to make sure it wasn't damaged, "Sure, I'd be a lot better off like you said, but…" I walked to the other side of the deck and retrieved my Oroshi Nine. After pulling the slide back to make sure a bullet was still loaded in the chamber, I turned to face Sinon, "I remember asking you the same thing not too long ago when Ikuchi was coming after you. Why don't you just lay low until this whole thing blows over? And you said that running away wouldn't solve anything. Sound familiar?"

Sinon narrowed her eyes. Guess she isn't a fan of her own words getting used against her. Though I could at least take some small comfort in the fact that she still cared about me enough to tell me to stay away.

"This is different," she crossed her arms, her tone mildly combative, "You don't need to be out in the open. You're risking everything unnecessarily."

"Sinon, I appreciate you looking out for me, but we're always at risk of losing stuff every time we step out of Glocken. That's just how the game is played," I told her, "I'm not gonna let Ikuchi's little scheme dictate what I do. I have too much dumb pride for that."

"That's…" Sinon tried to formulate another argument, but whatever she had in mind seemed to die off because she turned her back to me instead. She was silent for a moment, then looked over her shoulder with her mouth set in a barely visible frown, "Argo's been trying to contact you. She's been sending you messages for the past hour but you weren't responding, so I came to get you."

Huh, I didn't notice. Then again, avoiding bounty hunters in an ancient ship kind of took precedence over checking my mail. I opened my inbox and sure enough, there were several unread messages from her ranging from a simple 'Heya' to 'Better reply or I'm addin' another hundred thousand as an inconvenience fee ;)'. Wow, winking face and everything.

"She's got the info?" I asked.

"She didn't tell me, but I'd assume so. We're going to meet her in a bar called Third Eye. It's her hideout," Sinon said. I didn't recognize the name, but upon further reflection it wasn't much of a surprise. A bar used by the top information broker in GGO probably wouldn't, and shouldn't, be easy to find.

"Alright, lead the way. Before anyone still left in this boat finds us," I said. Together, we left the abandoned ship behind us and made our way through the lake bed.

Sinon walked at a quick enough pace that I had to break into a jog every few steps just to catch up with her. Eventually, she noticed I was having trouble keeping up and slowed down somewhat until I could walk alongside her.

"Thanks for the back-up by the way. Things were getting a bit dicey back there," I said.

"Mm."

"Never thought I'd end up being this popular. Hopefully Argo's got some good news waiting for us because I could sure use it right about now, y'know?"

"Hmm."

A lull fell between us. I scratched the back of my neck. Okay, something else to talk about then.

"So...what have you been up to?" Wow that sounded lame.

"Keeping busy," she said, turning her head away from me.

"Yeah...same here."

And that's how the conversation flat-lined. An agonizing silence filled the rest of the way back.

Damn it, if I hadn't opened my stupid mouth when I did, none of this would have happened. I let my moronic curiosity get the better of me and tried to make her say something she didn't want to. Guilt gnawed at my chest. I messed up and now the girl that I cared about was treating me as coldly as the day we first met.

I needed to apologize, and soon.

But before I could muster the backbone to do it, we had already reached the relative safety of SBC Glocken and eventually, the building that housed Argo's bar of choice. From one look, I could already tell one important thing about it.

Everything about Third Eye was the exact opposite of Pulsar.

Where Pulsar stood proud at the city's center with bright lights and crowds of people, Third Eye was tucked away in one of Glocken's seedier corners on the fifth floor of a commercial building housing all manner of stores and service establishments. The open air hallways were littered with trash, mildew grew rampant along the mortared walls, and the floor was covered in a thin, sticky layer of black grime that squelched under our boots. Yuck.

Eventually, Sinon brought us to a stop at a particular door. There were no bright neon signs hanging over it, no NPC barkers standing nearby trying to draw us in with promises of cheap booze and cheaper food. Hell, if it weren't for the tiny sticker of a stylized eye with three spikes going through it above the door handle, I would have walked right past.

"This is it," Sinon said. She grabbed the handle and gave it a few hard tugs before it finally opened with the kind of groaning that a dying whale might make. Sinon pulled the door open just wide enough to peek inside and almost immediately I was hit with the overpowering scent of chewing tobacco. I pinched my nose shut and breathed through my mouth as we both walked inside.

"Argo's got an interesting taste in hideouts," I said as I took a look around while wiping the black gunk off my feet with the red carpet. Third Eye was just one narrow room measuring about ten feet wide and barely twice as long. Several ceiling lamps gave the area a cozy orange glow and I saw thin lines of cigarette smoke lazily wafting through the air even though nobody was smoking. A hookah surrounded by various pamphlets was sitting unused to our right and the bar itself was stationed at the far left corner where an elderly NPC dressed in a grey vest and formal white button-up busied himself by cleaning a shot glass. Behind him were a pair of old wooden shelves where the liquor was displayed. Three of the four stools were empty, and a lanky player in navy blue fatigues with short white hair occupied the fourth.

"You here to see, Argo?" he asked as he turned to look at us. There were dark circles under his eyes and his pallid complexion made him look like he was suffering from some kind of disease.

"She messaged us to meet her here," I said, "You seen her anywhere?"

The player sighed and set his glass down, "Yup. Name's Noya. I'm her lookout. In case some undesirables come in here instead her clients."

"Is that really necessary? We're in a safe zone, after all. It's not like anyone can hurt her," Sinon said. Noya pushed himself up from the counter and sauntered over to us.

"That's assuming hurting her is the danger. There are plenty of people willing to snoop around here to eavesdrop on her meetings or tail the people employing her. Really, I'm here more for your benefit than hers," he said. I arced a brow. Information dealing was more serious than I thought if Argo had taken to hiring people to protect her business.

"So where is she?" I asked.

Noya made a noise in the back of his throat and jabbed a thumb behind him at a small hallway tucked in the right corner, "Head on back there. I'll send her a message to come in."

I gave my thanks and we brushed past him as he opened his menu. The hallway was short and completely devoid of any lighting, but at the far end, light spilled out of a wooden frame with bead curtains instead of a door. I pushed them aside and noticed the only thing in the room was a small circular table with three chairs and a light bulb dangling over it. A few more hookahs were placed haphazardly against the walls and the table itself had another stack of pamphlets sitting on it. Sinon picked one up and read the title.

"'The deadline for the second Squad Jam is fast approaching. Sign up today'," Sinon's eyes briefly lit up as she opened the pamphlet, "I've never heard of this."

"Oh yeah, it's not as big as Bullet of Bullets, but the rules are pretty similar. Bunch of teams battle it out and the last one standing wins," I explained while I sat down in one of the chairs. Sinon stared at the pamphlet so hard I was almost sure her eyes would pop out, "You look at it like that any longer and it might think it owes you money."

"Last one standing...huh," Sinon said more to herself than to me. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Sinon built her reputation on winning competitions like the Bullet of Bullets. It was only natural that she'd be interested in the new hotness that was Squad Jam.

It would have been nice to enter the battle royale myself just to try it out and have a bit of fun, but unfortunately business got in the way of pleasure. Next time, though.

On that note, the bead curtain suddenly spread open and Argo came strolling in wearing a brown cloak over her usual get-up and humming a little tune as she plopped herself down in the chair opposite of mine. She had a martini glass pinched between two fingers with bits of ice around the rim and little yellow candies swirling inside, "Afternoon, kids. Noya didn't scare ya back there, did he?"

"Nah, he's a big cupcake," I replied. Argo threw her head back and laughed.

"Ain't that the truth? So hard to find decent help these days, but Noya's got some smarts and knows when to use them," Argo stretched her arms out wide with a carefree grin, "But we're not here to talk about him, are we? Ya wanna find out Gozu's whereabouts, and I got a pretty good guess for ya. His schedule's been pretty erratic, but I managed to pin him down just this morning. Nyehehe, and here's the best part: he's only gonna have one other person backing him up, his pal Mezu."

Relief flooded my body and I resisted to urge to pull Argo into a fierce hug. She found him, and in a nearly vulnerable position on top of that! I'd just have to take out his friend in a surprise attack and I'd have him all to myself. I could already imagine strolling in with a smug smirk on my face, twirling my pistol around my finger by the trigger guard before shooting his legs and demanding he repeal the bounty on me. Obviously in fear of his life, he'd comply and everything would go back to normal. Credits roll. Five stars. Hand me the Academy Prize.

"One thing you oughta know though. Big ol' Gozu's expectin' trouble. Y'see, he's escortin' a group of first time GGO players," Argo stirred her drink with a straw as she kicked her legs up on the table, "Showin' them the ropes, helpin' them with their hunts, that sorta deal."

"Why would he do that?"

"After trainin' them, he's hopin' to convince some of them to join up with Yokai when all's said and done. Guess Ikuchi's itchin' for some new members. Word is, he was gonna try to win a Squad Jam by splittin' his men into multiple teams, maximizin' his chances for a win and a bucket load of fame in the process," Argo jutted her chin at the pamphlets on the table then took a sip of her glass, "But like I said, the recruits are as green as green can be, so they shouldn't be a problem for a couple of skilled players like yourselves if they try'n' cause ya trouble."

I leaned back into my seat, chewing on my lip as I turned the info over in my head. Stuffing the roster of competitors in Squad Jam with his own men sounded like the kind of underhanded thing Ikuchi would do. It's not like he'd be punished for it. The rules weren't as strict as BoB. If a squadron wanted to separate their men into different teams that all fought in the battle royale, nothing could technically stop them.

But that had nothing to do with me. Gozu was all that mattered, and the situation with him seemed pretty cut and dried. Him and Mezu were going to be alone with a handful of recruits that could be killed by a stiff breeze. The threat level was practically non-existent. Assuming luck was on my side.

"Okay, sounds perfect. Thanks again for coming through on this, Argo. Feels like I can finally breathe easy," I said with a gracious bow of my head.

"Don't go thankin' me yet," Argo took her feet off the table and leaned over it until her face came dangerously close to mine. Mischief colored her voice as she spoke and I suddenly felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, "Ya still gotta pay me, after all."

I stared back at her, expecting her to jab a finger against my chest and say 'Got You!', but the silence stretched on and I realized she was being serious.

"W-Wait what? I thought Sinon already paid you a week ago?" I turned to her, hoping she'd back me up, but all she gave me was a sideways glance and a shrug. Apparently, she didn't know about it any more than I did.

"That was for tellin' ya about the bounty. This is a whole 'nother thing. I told ya all about what Gozu's gonna be doin', but not where he's doing it. Cough up my payment and the location's all yours. Simple as that," Argo pulled away and I swear, the lopsided grin on her face grew several magnitudes larger.

"Ugh...fine. How much do you want?" I asked.

"Ten mil."

I damn near fell out of my chair.

"I'm sorry wh-what? How do you— I mean, I don't think I've ever had ten million!" I sputtered.

"Well that's a cryin' shame. No location for you then," Argo tented her fingers in front of her in a poor attempt to hide her snickering face, "Y'know, I heard your bounty got bumped all the way up to seven million yesterday. Some of the more higher-leveled players are startin' to take notice. It's only a matter of time before they introduce themselves to ya. Oh, if only ya knew where Gozu was. You'd be able to take care of this problem lickety split."

She was teasing me, and enjoying it too. I fought to keep myself from getting too flustered. I heard that Argo loved to make a fool out of people who crossed her, but I guess her own customers were no exception. Either way, I had a problem. I didn't have ten million to burn and I wouldn't be able to scrounge up that much before I got a bullet to the back of the head. Asking Sinon to cover it for me was out of the question too. No way in hell was I doing that.

"Look Argo, I don't exactly have that much on me right now. Can't we work something out?" I asked. She jumped out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table so hard her drink almost fell over.

"Only thing more valuable than credits is info, buddy. Ya got somethin' worth ten mil?" she asked while wiggling her eyebrows.

"Uh, well...no. Not really," I shrunk down in my chair.

"Ohoho, but I think you do. After all, it's standin' right next to ya," Argo said. We both looked over to the chair next to me, where Sinon sat with her arms and legs crossed. She exchanged looks with the both of us and her eyes narrowed.

"What?"

I shrugged, just as confused as she was, "We've only known each other for a couple months, Argo. I don't think I can tell you anything about her that you don't already know," I said. Argo made a game show buzzing sound and sat down while cupping her cheeks with both hands, elbows on the table.

"That's where you're wrong. I didn't get to be the best info dealer around by providin' the basics. Info's only good when ya got a monopoly on it, even better when it's the rare stuff," she explained. Her murky yellow eyes brightened as she continued, "I know everythin' that's worth knowin' and a guy like you is _definitely_ worth knowin'. Not only do ya have a price on your head, every bounty hunter that's come after you has failed to collect. Your name's startin' to get around. People are wonderin' what's the deal with the guy hangin' around GGO's most infamous sniper and I wanna get ahead of the curve."

"Wait, you want to-?"

Argo gave me an eager nod, "Yup. I wanna know every. Single. Glorious. Little detail about your ah, _personal_ relationship with each other. How ya met, how close ya are, all of it. I'd say that's a fair trade, wouldn't you agree?"

I was at a loss for words utterly dumbfounded. Somehow I got the feeling that's what she really wanted from the start. Still, it's not like I had much of a choice. It was either that or begging strangers for spare change to pay her ten million and I'd like to keep my dignity intact, thank you very much.

"Are you alright with this, Sinon?" I asked her. I wasn't going to agree to anything without getting her opinion. She didn't like her dredging up her personal life, our spat in my apartment was proof enough of that. The last thing I wanted to do was force her into doing it again. She looked down at her crossed arms, drumming her fingers against the sleeves of her jacket.

"It's fine," was all she said.

"Looks like we got a deal then," Argo clapped her hands together, "Gozu is gonna be out in the Arden Woods. He'll take the newbies around the perimeter of the zone where all the low level monsters are. If ya want my advice, and obviously ya do, your best shot would be to take 'em down after it's over and they're still catching their breath."

"What time?" I asked. Argo tapped a finger against her chin.

"Two hours from now. Hour and a half if they're in a hurry," she said. I sprang up from my chair.

"That soon?! Why did you wait until now to message me?" I asked in disbelief. Argo shrugged.

"Ya woulda had more time if ya answered my first message. That's on you."

I groaned and bolted for the exit, came to a stop, then hurried back to the table and held my hand out to her. Manners first. Being in a rush didn't mean I couldn't be polite, "Much obliged for the help. I appreciate it."

Argo shook it, but instead of letting go, she yanked me closer to her with a sly grin, "Better come through on our deal, ya hear? Ya might not think much of little ol' me, but when used right, info's more deadly than a gun. Just somethin' to think about."

She winked and let me go. The sound of chair legs scraping the floor drew my attention and I saw Sinon already making her way to the exit, posture rigid and arms locked together.

"Sinon?" I called out to her.

"I'll meet you there," she said without a look back.

We both watched her go in muted silence, and I couldn't stop the sigh escaping from my lips.

"Oh and one more thing?" Argo said.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of her, will ya? She may not look it, but Sinon ain't the loner type. She just needs the right people by her side," The sincerity in her voice surprised me. All trace of mirth had disappeared from her face, replaced with the concern a friend would have.

"Of course. I'll...I'll do my best," I nodded and started for the door. Just then, Argo's voice rang out behind me

"Ya better! You two would make a cute couple!"

My face flushed red and I buried my face in my hands. Just the thought of being that close with her made my head spin.

Damn it, Argo. Always getting the last word in.


	7. Headhunters: Chapter 7

**Terribly sorry about the wait on this one guys, but I wanted to make sure this one was as perfect as I could make it. It had gone through quite a lot of edits until it got to a point where I could give it a passing grade. So thank you, truly. And I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Once I left Third Eye, I shot Sinon a message that I would be heading to my apartment to pick up a few essentials from my storage. Fortune favors the prepared and all that. I went inside and threw open my footlocker, stuffing a few extra magazines and grenades into the pouches on my belt.

I opened my menu to check the time while all but bolting out of my room. At worst, I had about an hour to meet up with Sinon and start waiting around the edges of Arden Woods for Gozu and his flunkies. I wasn't terribly stretched for time, but the more of it we had, the better.

I stepped back out into Glocken and kept my head down. The last thing I needed was for another bounty hunter to notice me and start something the moment I stepped out of the safezone. Fortunately, I made it the city teleporters without getting so much as a glance.

A few people were standing around the large stone platform that sent players to every corner of GGO, either waiting for someone or debating where to go for their hunts. They didn't seem to recognize me. In fact, none of them were particularly interested in the guy staring at the floor with his hands in his pockets, so I stepped onto the platform, shuddering slightly as a powerful hum entered my ears and a shiver ran down my spine, the game's not-so-subtle way of telling me I could teleport out.

A pop-up menu displayed the locations I could visit and after making my choice, I suddenly felt weightless and a bright light drowned my vision. It lasted for half a minute at most, then my body felt tangible again. Dirt crunched under my boots and the pungent smell of rotting leaves wafted through the air.

The bright light faded away, replaced by an endless sea of thick trees, colorful flora, and stubby bushes all mixed together to create a vast blanket of green. A stream to my right rushed down a small cliff and snaked its way towards the forest with small furry creatures pawing through the water's surface looking for food. Birds squawked high above me, flying in circles or drifting lazily about.

I took a few steps forward, wary of any traps or ambushes waiting for me, until I came to a stop at the top of a steep slope downwards that led to the forest proper. Something bright red flashed in my vision and I swatted the air in front of me as if I could slap it away, before I realized it was a bullet line.

"Not gunning me down immediately, huh?" I muttered. The line danced against my left cheek and I followed it all the way to its source sitting at the top of a rocky hill. Sinon was crouched on one knee, Glock in hand and using its bullet line to draw my attention. I waved back at her and climbed up the hill, taking care to check my footing, "Did I keep you waiting long?" I asked as I crouched down next to her.

Sinon shook her head, "Gozu isn't here yet. We still have about another thirty minutes until he shows."

"Looks like we got some time to kill then. Might as well make ourselves comfortable," I laid belly down on the ground and Sinon did the same, "Hey, do you know if there's still traps in there?' I jerked my chin towards the forest.

"No. It was the first thing I checked," Sinon replied.

"They patched that out, huh? Thought the devs would never budge on that," I said. In theory, the Arden Woods acted as one of the few 'noob-friendly' zones in GGO meant to ease newcomers into the game while also providing enough challenge to make sure they could properly test their mettle. The mobs gave out a good chunk of XP for beginners, valuable components and materials were spread through either the wilderness or the numerous abandoned military outposts, and the weapons that dropped were enough to carry most people for a good long while. With all of that, Arden Woods would be a good place for low-level players to grind and get ready for the massive world ahead of them.

In theory.

The zone had several nicknames, but most people, myself included, had taken to calling it 'That Fucking Deathtrap'

It was infamous for its bevy of traps capable of one-shotting most beginner players. Everything from poison, to snake pits, to bamboo whips, and every little nasty thing in between. Entire teams were needed to leave the zone just to get a handful of treasures back intact.

There had been a recent update that added numerous weapons and items into the game, among them being my sweetheart Charon. I had to admit, I was surprised that the removal of Arden Woods's traps was a part of it.

"Guess we can't hope for them to weaken Gozu. Gotta do this the old fashioned way," I said. Sinon hummed in agreement.

"There is a problem we need to consider," she said.

"And that is?"

Sinon waved her hand out in front of her in an all-encompassing motion, "The forest is too thick for me to use Hecate effectively. If Gozu runs in there, my line of sight is going to be limited to a few dozen feet at most."

Bummer. But there was no helping it, "Well that sucks, but if we're lucky it won't come to that. As long as we stay right on them, long range support won't matter. Then all we have to do is get Gozu to rescind the bounty. Easy, right?"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Sinon asked. I paused, chewing my lip in thought.

"I'll turn on the charm and ask him in a polite but firm voice," I shrugged my shoulders, "If that doesn't work...I'll improvise."

"Improvise?" Sinon asked, "You're taking a lot of risk."

"Hey, a lot of our plans lately have been improvised. It always works out, doesn't it?" I said. Sinon turned to face the expansive forest in front of us. There was something thoughtful written on her face as she focused the ground and absently drew circles in the dirt with a finger.

"Yeah…" she said. Silence creeped in between us. We stayed like that for a long while, letting the birds chirp and squawk to fill in the quiet for us. Every so often, Sinon would shift in place and glance in my direction. Only for a second though.

After several more minutes, I looked back at her and our eyes met. She didn't look away.

"S-Sinon?" My voice came out rougher than I wanted to but it was enough to catch attention her attention.

"Yes?" Bright blue pools stared back at me

I cleared my throat, shifting my jaw from side to side as I mentally chewed over the words. But really, what was the point? There was no sense in delaying talking to her. And the longer I went without trying to mend our relationship, the worse things were going to get between us. Time to bite the bullet, "About last week...you were right. It was none of my business. I got caught up in wanting to know what was going on that I didn't consider what you were going through. I was being stupid and selfish. I shouldn't have pried and—and I won't anymore u-unless you ask me to, cause y'know that's the only time I would...so…"

A sigh escaped my lips, and I looked back into that stunning, brilliant gaze of hers, "I'm sorry."

I honestly didn't know what to expect. Maybe a huff and a 'You better be sorry' or an indifferent shrug that would render my apology pointless. Or perhaps she'd just go back to watching the forest and give one of her curt nods, end of story.

"You don't have to apologize for anything," she said, "I understand. You just wanted to help. You were worried about me. You're not the first person who's-"

She stopped herself, then said, "No, what I mean is... I don't blame you for choosing to act the way you did. I would have done the same thing too, I think."

"Really?"

"Mhm. Isn't taking care of you all I've been doing since we met?" she asked. It took me a second to realize she was teasing me and I gave her an honest chuckle.

"Oh please, it's been a fifty-fifty relationship," I said. The faint tug of her lips turned into a small smile.

"In your dreams maybe," She said. We shared a small laugh together. She didn't do it often but when it happened, it never failed to make my heart flutter.

"Y'know I thought you were trying to avoid me these past few days," I confessed. Sinon gave a sharp exhale and shook her head as she looked back over the hill.

"Not intentionally. I've had a lot on my mind lately," she said, almost whispering the words. Her head sunk low until her chin rested on her crossed arms, "Believe me, I don't hate you or anything. I want to keep some things private though. Even though we've known each other for a while now, we're still just two strangers who met in GGO. We don't even know each other's real name."

I couldn't deny that. I've probably known Sinon longer than anyone else I've met in this game. She was a good companion and confidant, and there was no one I trusted more. But at the end of the day, we still knew almost nothing about each other. Most of our conversations were small talk, like any news being passed around Glocken or about our recent hunts. We were partners, but that was where our relationship ended.

Maybe that could change one day.

"Are you fine with that?" I found myself asking. Sinon flinched. She tore her eyes away from the forest and stared back at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Being strangers who play GGO together. Is that enough for you?" I clarified. She didn't answer right away. The lull of silence dragged on for what felt like hours as I waited. Every part of her seemed to tense up all at once.

"I...don't know," she finally said, taking a breath, "I'm sorry. I don't think I can give you a good answer."

I should have expected it, but a tiny part of me that still held out hope felt disappointed. I tried not to let it show in my voice, "Don't worry about it. I was just curious. Pfft, like that did me any good last week, huh?"

Sinon's face brightened up a little bit. That was enough for me.

"You don't have to blame yourself for that, remember?" she said.

"Eh, it's good the be humble sometimes," I replied. We stayed in comfortable silence much to my relief. The worst had been avoided, Sinon was talking to me again, and clock was ticking down until Gozu arrived for his mid-afternoon smacking. Things were, dare I say it, looking up.

At some point in our stake out, I rolled onto my back, staring up at the crisp blue sky while tapping my Oroshi Nine against my stomach in a nonsensical rhythm. Sinon and I shared a quick snack that consisted of energy bars and canteens of water. Thirty minutes had almost passed when a shuffling came from my right and I cocked my head to the side to see Sinon crawling forward.

"There, near the edge of the forest," she whispered. I rolled onto my stomach and followed the direction her finger pointed.

Sure enough, a group of twelve players were moving together. Most of them were low level and looked the part, wearing basic armor sets and wielding a variety of simple, Russian-made weapons that were a dime a dozen in most shops. Some of group had very visible red gashes on their bodies.

"Looks like they had fun," I remarked. Sinon brought up Hecate and peered through its scope, adjusting the knob on its side a few times to get a clearer look.

"Gozu's at the front, Mezu's taking the rear," She said. I saw them the same time she did. Gozu was a burly man, face covered in scars and muscles pumping with testosterone. He kept his hair in a deep red crew cut and had ears that were a bit too big for his head. The kevlar vest he wore looked nigh impenetrable and even the clothes he wore under it seemed to have metal plates sewed onto the sleeves. He hefted a large machine gun and leaned it against his shoulder as he addressed his recruits.

"Alright come on now, we're wasting daylight the longer we spend patching ourselves up. There's only a couple more stops to make," he said.

"If you guys can't keep up, you're not gonna have any hope surviving in GGO. The other players are gonna eat you alive," Mezu added. Much like his comrade, he was built like a tank. But instead of a neat haircut and a civilized sense of style, Mezu's long white hair looked like it got into a fight with a weed whacker and lost. His facial hair was patchy and a weird mix of white and brown. The armor he wore looked like it had been duct taped together from various different monsters. The carapace of some insect protected his chest, bones from some animal covered his arms and legs, and the cranium of a wolf sat on his head like a cap. In one hand he carried a glossy black shotgun with a drum magazine and the other he held a worn machete, flecked with the dried blood of god-knows-what.

"Sounds like they're wrapping up for today. We better act fast before we lose our chance," I said.

"I have a clear shot at Mezu. If worst comes to worst, I can shoot him right now," Sinon said.

"Got it. Let's wait for a bit. Don't want to give Gozu the slightest chance of escaping us," I said.

We watched as the group came ever so closer to our perch. Gozu and Mezu seemed too preoccupied scanning the forest on their right to notice us. Haha, they didn't know the _true_ danger was watching them from the other direction. The fools!

"I know we kinda had you guys working to the bone, and I'm sorry about that. To be completely honest, I'm impressed you all managed to stick with it for so long. The Yokai could use people like you, powerful people willing to do the right thing. You'd be securing your future in GGO. We'll provide the funds for your equipment and make sure you have a solid support structure for whenever you need it. You're that important to us," Gozu said with all the sleaziness that came from a used car salesman. Yack. Barf. I had to clench my jaw shut to keep myself from gagging.

"He's really putting the moves on them," I said.

"No wonder Ikuchi's been able to attract a lot of potential recruits. It's a tempting offer for anyone starting out," Sinon replied.

"How the hell did he manage to grow Yokai so fast? I hadn't even heard of this guy a month ago and now he's got a small army at his beck and call," Gozu's group entered the shadow of the hill we sat on. Now was our chance. I swallowed the lump of apprehension in my throat, letting it settle into my gut like a rock. On instinct, I reached for my MP7 to make sure it was still there, then locked my grip around the handle. Waiting was sometimes the worst part of a gunfight. I never knew what I was up against until the chips were down and the lead was flying. Until then, all I had was the unknown. I really hate the unknown.

"Ready to go whenever you are. I'll fire as soon at Mezu as soon as he becomes a threat to you," Sinon said, peering through the scope of Hecate. I drew my MP7 and nodded to affirm myself. Now or never. After Sinon and I formed a party together, I fixed the earpiece in place and gave her a firm nod.

"Okay, let's get rid of a bounty," I got up and slid down the hill. Gozu's group didn't notice me when I hit the base. I fought to keep my nerves in check and walked towards them with determination and vigilance. No backing down. I had come this far already. For the sake of my own well-being, I had to this get out of this problem I found myself in. I needed to get back at the guys who started this mess.

Yeah, this was never my mess. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be hounded 24/7 by bounty hunters. I didn't ask to have a target painted on my back over some bald-faced lie. I didn't ask to have my time in GGO ruined by some punk with a superiority-complex.

I shook my head and forced the negative emotions down. I couldn't afford to be angry now. First rule of a gun fight: Never let the enemies see you lose your cool. If they're smart, they'll use it against you.

Once I got within earshot, I straightened up so that I was oozing with confidence and shouted at them as loud as I could, "Gozu, you got some splainin' to do!"

Gozu jerked his head towards me. Mezu sneered and leveled his shotgun in my direction. The recruits between them held various expressions of shock and uncertainty, but they stayed where they were. A few of them aimed their guns but Gozu lifted a large hand as a silent command to stand down.

"What's the meaning of this? We're in the middle of a lesson here," he said. I came to a stop just as the bullet line coming from Mezu's shotgun fizzled out. I was safely away from his effective range. Tucking the stock of my MP7 under my armpit, I aimed straight at Gozu's chest.

"I think you know, so don't act innocent. Does a bounty ring any bells? Something to the tune of seven million? Gotta say, I'm a little offended that Ikuchi decided to resort to something so underhanded instead of fighting me face to face," I said. One of the recruits, a slim guy with a ponytail, scowled at me then made a move to raise his pistol.

"Where do you get off trying to start shit like-"

I beat him to the punch. In one smooth motion, I unholstered my Oroshi Nine and aimed it square at his head without taking my eyes off Gozu. I kept the tone of my voice steady and regarded the recruit with a cold stare, "You really don't want to get involved in this, buddy. I'd rather not shoot a rookie, but I will if I have to. So don't test me."

The recruit stared at the bullet line centered right on his forehead and took a small step back. He was brash but he wasn't stupid. He had to have known that it'd be pointless to attack me. I was levels above him after all. Getting shot by him would be like getting poked in the ribs. It'd feel weird and make me giggle a little.

"Callis, stand down. While I appreciate the gesture, he's too powerful for you. For any of you."

"But Boss-" Callis urged.

"I said stand down, all of you," Gozu addressed the rest of his recruits then took a step forward himself, "Whatever your problem is with me, we can talk this out like adults. So please put the gun down."

"Nothing to talk about. You put a bounty on my head, a fake one at that, and I want it gone right now, please and thank you," I said. Gozu gave a lengthy sigh.

"You have the wrong person."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I shook my head, then my pistol went from the recruit's head to his, "C'mon Gozu. I don't want this to get bad any more than you do so why deny it? Let me guess, Ikuchi ordered you to put the bounty on me instead of doing it himself so that he had plausible deniability and it'd sucker me into thinking Yokai wasn't involved if I investigated him. But it didn't work, did it? Jeez Gozu, it's almost like I'm not an idiot."

"Do not push this. If you insist on resorting to accusations while holding me at gunpoint, then I'm afraid I'll have to meet force with force," Gozu hefted his massive machine gun at me, bullet lines spewing out of its barrel and lighting me up like a Christmas tree, "You're outnumbered here. Do the smart thing and walk away. If I don't kill you, Mezu most certainly will."

Right on cue, Mezu stepped forward until his bullet line landed on my body.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. C'mon man. Didn't you just hear me?" Almost as soon as my words were out did a crack of thunder echo through the air. A massive chunk of Mezu's chest was just gone. Red pixels exploded out of him like a geyser, the sheer force of the bullet threw him back several feet, hitting the ground in a roll before falling still. Some of the recruits yelped in surprise. One even tripped over his own feet when he tried to back away.

Gozu's face turned into one of surprise. I managed to fight a growing smirk down into a small grin and shrugged, "I'm not an idiot." I said. Boy, that worked out _really_ well. Note to self, thank Sinon for her impeccable dramatic timing.

Mezu groaned and pushed himself up until he was on his hands and knees. The bullet from Sinon's anti-material rifle had rendered his chest plate into little more than junk. Tiny pinpricks of red light oozed from his gaping chest wound. He was alive. Barely. But that was enough to still paint him as a threat.

"If he tries to attack you, I'll fire again," Sinon said through my earpiece. I heard the sharp click of her rifle's bolt being pulled back.

"You're a peach," I whispered to her while facing Gozu again, speaking loud enough for him to hear me over the recruits freaking out about their nearly-dead teacher, "Looks like you're on your own now. So either drop that bounty now or the next sniper round is going through your head."

He bared his teeth in an irritated growl. His bullet line didn't move, "You have no idea how big of a mistake you're making."

"Look Gozu, this whole thing can be easily avoided if you just do what I say. There's nothing else I want more than to just leave you be and go on about my day. But I can't do that until this price on my head goes away. Literally. I've had bounty hunters jumping down my throat since day one. So come on. Make this easy for the both of us. After this, you'll never see me again. Pinky promise," I wagged my little finger at him. Neither of us lowered our guns. I waited for him to say something, anything. But to my surprise it wasn't him that broke the silence.

"You're dead, kid," Mezu wheezed as he threw me a menacing glare, "Yokai's killed far tougher people than punk trash like you. Talk back all you want. It won't help when I got my boot on your neck."

"Take your best shot," I countered without a hint of emotion. Through my earpiece, Sinon drew in a breath and slowly exhaled. I watched as Mezu crawled forward and reached for the shotgun lying on the ground in front of him. He grabbed it and was barely up on his knees when Sinon's bullet line appeared and another crack of thunder echoed.

The bullet tore through an eye socket with a sickening pop and exploded through the back of the skull. His head jerked back with such force that it almost came off as his body spun in a half circle and collapsed in a eerily still heap.

Mezu's back hit the ground. I couldn't believe it. None of us did, as we stared at the lifeless corpse of Callis, the pony-tailed recruit who saved Mezu's life by pushing him away.

I didn't see the flashbang until it rolled at my feet.

Everything exploded. Everything hurt. A bright light pierced my retinas like I had dumped bleach into them. The explosion rattled my teeth and felt like I was chewing on tinfoil. I tried to scream out, tried to tell Sinon to do something, but I couldn't hear a thing over head-splitting noise of nails on a chalkboard. Gravity spun all around me, swirling my melted brain into a smoothie of neural liquid.

It lasted maybe five seconds, but it damn well may have been a century. My vision came back in pieces, the sun and the deep blue sky, then the ground that beckoned me to just lie down and never get back up. The heavy white haze over everything I saw thinned away until I could barely make out Gozu making a run for the forest.

Sinon's voice sounded like it came from miles away, but I heard her call my name and say that Mezu was running too and she would go after him.

"I-I really hate the AmuSphere sometimes," I said as I tried to will my body to move, but I felt weighted down. I tried to ignore the burning in my throat and ran as fast as I could after Gozu. Which wasn't much. My sense of balance was shot and my run was more like a waddle while wearing lead boots. When I broke the tree line, I caught sight of Gozu heading north, jumping over a fallen tree trunk. When did he get so big? Was he always so brightly colored?

I slapped my cheeks and pursued him as best as I could, nearly tripping over exposed tree roots and furry critters as they ran to and fro. To my surprise, I managed to hold on to my guns in the explosion. I put them back in their places and focused again on the path ahead of me.

For a big guy, Gozu could cover a lot of ground. Every couple of steps he took meant I had to take three to catch up with him. If it weren't for the unlimited stamina in GGO, my muscles would have burned out from exhaustion. Gozu jumped over a small stream and kept running without breaking stride. It took me about ten seconds to do the same. Not good. Needed to run faster

"C'mon Gozu, if you come back, I promise I won't be mad," I panted. He didn't respond. He circled around a hill and I followed him, shoveling air into my lungs. The last bits of disorientation finally disappeared. The figurative sludge I was running through melted away and as I commanded my legs to pump harder, they did so without complaint. Back in business. Hallelujah! "C'mon Gozu, talk to me! It's no fun if you won't talk to me. Who am I supposed to use my witty comebacks on?"

Still nothing. Someone's not the sociable type.

I pushed away everything except his slowly growing form, ignoring the thumping of my boots on the dirt or the threatening growls of predators. I felt like I could run a marathon and I probably was. Gozu turned right and I followed, then left, then right, then left again. He was trying to shake me. When that didn't work, he balanced his gun over his shoulder and fired. The shots went wide, hitting tree trunks and kicking up dirt. Well two can play at that game.

I yanked my Oroshi Nine free and aimed for his leg, but the uneven terrain and the excited pumping of my heart drove the bullet circle wild. I took a deep breath to center myself and pulled the trigger twice. The first shot landed between his feet but the second struck his calf and threw off his run just enough for me to gain a couple of meters on him.

I focused my aim again and fired another three shots, catching him in the shoulder with two. Gozu gave a sharp cry and somehow sped up even more. He managed a few steps before throwing himself through a thick wall of vines. I sucked in a breath, bent low as I approached it, then jumped through with a booming war cry.

Gozu stood on the cliffs that bordered the northern edge of Arden Woods. Endless ocean stretched out before the two of us, and the sound of crashing waves rose up from below. I took a cautious step towards the man. He had his back to me and was standing as still as statue. Even his machine gun dangled limply at his side.

"Nowhere to go, man. I think it's about time you seriously consider your options here," I said, keeping my pistol trained on him while walking around to his side, though I stayed far enough away to avoid any surprise attacks. No sense in letting my guard down now, "You still have a chance to do the right thing here. Drop the bounty. We won't see each other ever again after that. You have my word."

The half of his face that I could see twisted into a contemptuous sneer, "Don't need it. You're going away regardless."

Before I could even ask what he meant, it happened. A sudden burning sensation tore through my legs in the blink of an eye. It was a brief but intense pain, like getting several papercuts at once in the same place. I couldn't stop the agonized grunt from leaving my lips.

I hit the rocky ground chin first. My health fell halfway. That wasn't right. That couldn't be right. Leg injuries don't do that much damage.

"What a shame. Some people just don't seem to realize when they're not wanted."

I recognized that voice. Smooth and slimy. I turned my head to the side. A pair of combat boots and deep blue pants led up to a white combat jacket, wine-colored eyes, and slicked back dark hair. His photon sword thrummed with vibrant red light, its heat touching my cheek.

"Ikuchi…" I growled. He raised a brow with casual interest and gave me one of those annoying smiles that looked more at home on the cover of Psychopath's 'R' Us.

"May I ask what it is you're doing here?" he asked as he stopped in front of me. Gozu came to his side, expression unreadable.

"You know damn well why I'm here," I shot back. I tried to get up to my feet, but something felt off. My lower body felt lighter and every small movement sent tiny pinches up my spine. I looked back and cold, animalistic fear took hold of me.

Ikuchi severed my legs to the knee.

I forced myself to look away and shut my eyes tight, taking slow breaths to calm the frantic beating of my heart. It was Virtual Reality. It wasn't real, I told myself. But it was hard to fight against thousands of years of evolution screaming at me that my legs were really gone and I should really be panicking _right now_.

"Let me guess, you thought you could intimidate poor Gozu here into getting rid of that nasty price on your head? Well, allow me to be frank with you. That plan was doomed the moment you stepped foot into Arden Woods," Ikuchi shut off his photon sword and crouched down to look at me, "We knew you were here the moment you entered the zone. You're not as subtle as you think."

I focused all my energy on how I would really like to punch him in the nose. It helped a little as I ground my teeth together, "So you knew from the start. You knew I'd come after Gozu eventually."

"Of course I knew what was going to happen. Because unlike you, I don't underestimate people," Ikuchi tilted his head to the side, "But let's put that aside for now. Despite what you may think, I'm willing to make a deal about certain things. They concern Sinon as well, if that will keep your attention."

That familiar wave of protectiveness surged over me. I forced myself to reign in it, "Of course it has to do with her."

"It's been that way from the start. After all, defeating her will grant me the kind of renown that people like you only dream of. Beating one of the most notorious players in this game will give Yokai the standing it deserves, and I will have the honor of putting her legend to rest," Ikuchi said, "Her time is over. You and I know that. She just needs to realize it herself. GGO will not grant her any kindness now. Not since the Death Gun Incident. She's liable to run away again because of it."

"You have no idea who she really is if you think that," I glared at him.

"Oh? Do you?"

I almost spat that I did. I wanted to. But I couldn't. It was like she said, we're just two strangers who play a game together. I didn't know her back when Death Gun terrorized the playerbase. How it changed her. Who she was before all that. For crying out loud, she was avoiding her own friends now. Friends that she had before I came into the picture.

If she stayed away from them, then would she do the same to me one day?

I lowered my gaze to the ground, and realized with growing pessimism that she already had for a week. She said it wasn't intentional. That it was nothing. But next time, it could be.

Ikuchi leaned forward slightly, his voice gentle, "She won't stay long. GGO isn't her home anymore. It's a place of pain for her. She'll leave when it becomes too much for her to bear. You'll be left alone, but it doesn't have to stay that way."

I looked up at him. Ikuchi placed a hand on my shoulder, "You managed to survive for so long against an army of bounty hunters. Talent like that is rarely found nowadays. You deserve better than her. You _are_ better than her. Her days as the legendary sniper have come and gone. The best she can do now is be a stepping stone for those meant to surpass her."

"You want me to abandon her?" I asked.

"No, no. Not abandon. That implies she is worth something to you. She isn't. You keep following her and it'll hurt you in the end," Ikuchi took his hand off me and got up to his feet, "I have no quarrel with you. If anything, I admire your tenacity. Join Yokai. You're still new to the game, but you can put down roots with us. Get the kind of guidance only real seasoned veterans can give you. Eventually you'll be making more credits— more Yen than you know what to do with."

"Join...Yokai," I licked my lips and forced out a ragged breath, "And the bounty hunters?"

"Naturally, I'll call them off. I doubt they'd be any match for you anyways seeing as how you've bested them so many times. You can spend the rest of your days in GGO getting better and making money instead of running away all the time."

I wouldn't have to look over my shoulder ever again. I wouldn't have to worry. No more problems or people looking to make a quick buck off my corpse. I'd be safe again. And Sinon...if I never saw her again, that'd be it between us. Was I okay with that? Leaving someone who I didn't really know? Was it truly leaving her if we were never more than acquaintances? At least then, she'd be free to follow her own path instead of tying herself to mine.

Ikuchi held his hand out to me, open and inviting, "It'll work out between us. I promise. You're story's just starting. It'd be an honor to be there with you as it unfolds."

I looked at his hand, blinking. For a brief moment, nothing but the whisper of wind flowed between us. It was enough. I knew what I wanted to do.

I took Ikuchi's hand.

Then yanked him down to eye level and snarled at him, "Bite me."

Anger flashed in his eyes and his photon sword sprang to life, swiping up and slicing my arm at the elbow. I hit the ground with a hurt cry, pain reverberating over me. My health dropped down to the red, but I didn't care. I got to spit in Ikuchi's eye. It was worth it.

"I should have known someone who stayed with her in the first place would be stupid enough to refuse," I heard him say.

"What can I say? Your sales pitch sucked," I replied, looking up at him. A dull pain throbbed in my three severed limbs, but the rising swell of conviction in my voice burned it all away in a righteous flame, "You think I'd just betray Sinon like that? Betray her trust? Like hell is that going to happen. I won't abandon her. She's watched my back when I needed it most and she's a hell of a lot stronger than you think she is. I won't turn my back on her. Ever. And there isn't a single thing you can do or say that'll change that."

Ikuchi pointed the tip of his blade at my head, "You're setting yourself up for disappointment. She won't give you anything in return when she leaves."

"Maybe, maybe not. But sometimes it isn't about what the other person can give you. It's about being there for them when it matters most. If she decides to leave GGO, then it's her choice. I'll support it," I said, "That's what friends are for."

Gozu, who had stayed silent through the whole thing, suddenly sighed, "Mezu's health is gone. He's dead. We need to wrap this up."

Ikuchi's blade fizzled out and he buckled the hilt onto his belt. He watched me for a long moment, then with a shake of his head, he ordered, "Throw him off the cliff. He's no use to us now." He turned his back to me and walked towards the woods, one hand in his pocket.

Gozu grabbed my by the back of my jacket and hauled me up like I was nothing more than a piece of luggage. I didn't try to resist. With only one arm, my chances of fighting back were nil. I chanced a look at Sinon's health as he carried me. Still full. She didn't have any trouble at all. Wish I could say the same.

We stopped right at the edge. Jagged rocks as tall as buildings waited for me at the bottom. Water crushed and swallowed anything in its path, drowning hard black bedrock before receding and doing it over again.

"I can hear the ocean, Gozu. Says you're a dick," I remarked. He shook his head.

"You gotta learn when to shut up, man. Nobody thinks you're funny."

"The jokes aren't for you," I said.

Gozu's response died in his throat with the sharp bang of a sniper rifle. His head was crushed into a pixelated pulp. There wasn't a shred of anything resembling a face. His body gave a final twitch, then dropped like a sack of rocks.

Unfortunately, that meant he let me go just as he was holding me over the cliff. I winced as I clipped the cliff edge and felt my heart jump up to my throat as I started to freefall. Sheer desperation made me throw my hand up in a last ditch effort to grab something. Something warm and soft caught me, holding on with a fierce grip. I looked away from the watery depths below and turned my attention upwards.

"Sinon…" I breathed. Her scowl was barely holding together. Not a word was said between us as she grit her teeth and pulled me up with all her might until I was up and safely away from the cliff's edge. Even then, Sinon didn't let go of my hand until we were dozens of feet away from it.

"A-Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She finally asked me, sitting down in a kneeling position by my side. The scowl that had been on her face earlier crumbled, replaced by a look of real concern.

"Well, alright might be stretching it a little, but I'm still kicking," I propped myself up with my one good arm. Meanwhile, my severed limbs ached with the kind of pain one feels after a day of intense exercise, "Ikuchi knew we were coming. He was probably watching us the same way we were watching Gozu."

"Where is he?"

"Gone. He's probably out of the zone by now," I muttered while sitting up straight. Sinon bowed her head, a lock of teal hair falling in front of her face.

"I see."

She shuffled in place, watching the forest over her shoulder every so often. I went to work pulling my medical syringes out one by one and jabbing them into my neck. Unfortunately, no matter how many I injected, my limbs wouldn't come back for maybe a half hour at least. Around the time I sank the needle of my fourth syringe, however, I noticed Sinon staring at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Something the matter?" I asked, while rummaging through the pouches on my belt. She hesitated, then scooted over until our eyes met. With the most timid voice I'd ever heard from her, she asked me a question that froze me on the spot.

"Did you really mean all that?"

I blinked at her. My throat tightened so hard I thought it would snap, "U-Um, what?"

"Everything you said to Ikuchi before I got here— about never betraying my trust and being by my side no matter what. Did you...mean it?" Sinon's mouth disappeared under her muffler as she spoke. I stumbled over my words. I'd never seen Sinon act so bashful before. I would have thought it was adorable if I wasn't suddenly so nervous.

"How did you even know what I said?" I asked her. Sinon pointed at her earpiece. Of course. We were still in a party. It didn't matter if I wasn't talking to her then, as long as it was me speaking, she would hear every word.

"So," I started, scratching my cheek, "You know what happened, don't you?"

Sinon gave a slow nod, "I could piece it together. Ikuchi wanted you to join Yokai and leave me behind," She looked down at the battered state of my avatar and let out a short sigh, "You refused, and you said all those things. But I just wanted to know if you meant them."

My heart sped up. Even if the answer was easy, I struggled to say it, "Y-Yeah, I did."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because why wouldn't I? We've stuck together for this long. We agreed to be partners. That isn't something I'd take for granted," I said, keeping my voice quiet.

"Even if you ended up like this?" Sinon eyed my injuries again. "You turned down his offer and he did this to you.

"He did, but I don't regret it. I'm not turning on you, Sinon. No way in hell," I said. She watched me for a moment, then she put a warm hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you," was all she said. Her voice carried a sweet tone and I could see the barest smile on her face as she said it. My ears burned. A pleasant sensation worked its way down my spine. Suddenly I didn't mind being horribly maimed.

Sinon started to pull away, but I didn't want the contact to end there. I reached up and took her hand in mine, wrapping my fingers gently around hers so that she could pull away with the slightest tug. She didn't. She looked back at me in shock, lips slightly parted.

"My turn to ask something," I said, "Are you...going to stay here in GGO?"

Sinon paused, but when the answer came, it was resolute, without a hint of doubt or uncertainty in her voice, "Yes. I'm don't want to leave. You can be sure of that."

The determination in her eyes blazed like a wildfire. That was enough for me.

"Okay, good. I'm— I'm glad," I said, "Because I...I don't want you to leave either."

I swear on my grave that the slightest tinge of pink touched Sinon's cheeks when I said that. Our hands parted soon after. The ground was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world to me as I examined it.

"Well, unfortunately we couldn't get the bounty off of you. We're back to square one," Sinon said. Her voice was as calm as ever in spite of the moment we just shared. I nodded in agreement. But strangely enough, I wasn't worried. As long as I had Sinon by my side, we'd figure something out.

Yeah, I think I was going to be okay.


	8. Headhunters: Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! Here's an early Christmas present for ya! I really hammered on this in the hopes of getting it out before December was over. And seriously, the words of encouragement you guys give me, and knowing you guys are enjoying this story, is the best Christmas present I could ask for. Never did I think my little experiment could have garnered such a reception. Have I told y'all that I love ya? Cause I do.**

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Chapter 8

I lied. I don't think I'm going to be okay.

The bad news came when Sinon and I returned to my apartment. I shot Argo a message explaining what happened and was given a reply that knocked a few years off my lifespan. Literally and figuratively.

 _Ikuchi works quick_ , the message read, _Your bounty's up to 15 million now. I'm hearin' the pros are gettin' all hot and bothered about the idea of trackin' you down._

Crap. Crap. Crap. My one shot of nipping the problem in the bud and not only did it go wrong, it got infinitely worse. I screwed up and now I was on the fast track to becoming GGO's Most Wanted. Safe to say my goose was thoroughly cooked if I didn't think of something fast. There was just one problem..

"I can't think of anything," I mumbled. I flopped onto my bed, legs hanging off the side, "Gozu was our best lead. Our only lead. Now that he's effectively out of our reach...I'm not sure what our next step is," I said with a sigh. I expected things to get rough when this whole debacle started, but I didn't expect it to get so rough I'd be counting my remaining blessings on one hand.

Sinon leaned against the window next to my bed with her arms crossed, watching the floor in silence the whole while. She hadn't said much of anything ever since we left Arden Woods, but by now I knew better than to pry. If she had something to say, she'd say it. We agreed on that.

"No going after Gozu. It's painfully obvious that Yokai's watching him, just waiting for me to come back," I thought aloud. It wasn't a hard deduction to make. If they were keeping an eye him when I came looking the first time, chances were good they would do it again, which meant no going near him. "Ikuchi is near untouchable right now and I don't have any bargaining chips to negotiate with him. And best of all I won't be able to walk five feet without someone double my level breathing down my neck."

I sat up and covered my face with my hands. As much as I wanted to find another angle of getting to Ikuchi, I just couldn't see it. There were simply too many of his guys in play and too many factors against me. I needed help. I needed support. The idea of taking it up with the devs crossed my mind, but they probably wouldn't do anything. GGO's customer support could be pretty abysmal, not to mention it was an American company that kept the Japanese market at arm's length ever since the Death Gun Incident. My complaints would just get swept up by the thousands of other requests flooding their inboxes every day.

I groaned and jabbed a finger against my forehead several times, practically demanding the answers to come tumbling out. My brain ran like a hamster in its exercise wheel, trying so hard to get somewhere only to stay exactly where it was. No luck. There was nothing for it. I had to needed to find someone to lend me a hand.

Opening my message window, I typed a quick response to Argo asking if maybe she could use her extensive amount of resources to spread the word about how Ikuchi's bounty was a lie. Her reply came in less than a minute.

 _Won't be as effective as ya want. Remember, Info Brokers get a nice slice of the bounty if their customer nabs you and a cut of 15 mil is nothin' to sneeze at. If I start spreadin' the word that the whole thing's bogus, the brokers will turn on me and my competition would loooove nothin' more than to take a shot at my credibility._

I heaved a long, tired sigh. Info brokers relied on their credibility to make a living. Nobody wanted to give their money to someone they couldn't trust, after all. While Argo was among the best of the best, she no doubt had her fair share of enemies too. Asking her to help would be asking her to hurt her own business. I couldn't do that to her. Not in good conscience.

"Well?" Sinon's voice interrupted my train of thought. I spared her a quick glance and shrugged.

"I don't know, Sinon. My back's against the wall here. I feel like the more I struggle, the less I'm seeing clearly," I said.

"You don't have a plan?" she asked.

"No."

"Or an idea?"

"Also no."

Sinon furrowed her brow and pushed herself off the window, "You're not giving up, are you?"

It took more effort than I was comfortable with to say no again.

"So think," Sinon said in a severe tone. The same one she used when people were testing her patience or cowarding out on a mission. I knew she was just trying to get my ass into gear, but it still sent a chill down my spine. "Think. Otherwise you're going to fail for sure."

I rubbed my face with both hands. There had to be something I was missing, some angle I hadn't considered. Ikuchi knew how to cover his bases and predict my next likely move, but he wasn't omniscient. There had to be something I could do that even he couldn't account for. But for the life of me, I couldn't see it.

I stood up from my bed and joined Sinon in front of the window. The sun was beginning its dip towards the horizon as the evening came, yet the hustle and bustle of Glocken's main streets never slowed. I watched the faces of several passersby as if they held the answer I was looking for. Surprise, surprise. They didn't.

"Did Mezu give you any trouble?" I asked, partly out of boredom, partly out of hope that a little small talk would give me a fresh perspective on things. Sinon gave a slight shake of her head.

"He was already wounded pretty bad when I caught up with him. My first shot had crippled his ability to move his arms and shoot. It was more of a mercy kill than anything," she said, then swiped a finger across her nose, "He smelled weird though. Like he'd been rolling around in dirt for the past hour."

I smiled and gave her a small shrug, "He probably was. Did you see the armor he was wearing? Looked like he put it together from every monster he ever killed without cleaning it first. Regular wildman, that guy was."

"I sometimes wonder why the AmuSphere's sense of smell goes that far. It seems...excessive. Especially for him," she said.

"Pfft, I'll be sure to tell him that if I ever see him again. Maybe a good slathering of cologne would do him good." I said. That actually got a chuckle out of her.

"They probably sell perfume and things like that in an obscure corner of the city. I wouldn't be surprised," she said.

"Ooh, thinking about getting some for yourself?" I asked with a cheeky grin. Sinon looked away and huffed.

"Of course not."

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

"It doesn't matter if it does."

I started clapping my hands together, "Sinon's got a girly side! Sinon's got a girly side!"

She shot me an icy glare. Her shoulder tensed up just enough to warn me of an incoming punch to the mouth. I acted on reflex and jerked my head away, preparing for the worst, but she didn't follow through with it and relaxed her fist. I gradually let my guard down as well. I should have known better, because instead of punching me when I expected it, she stomped her heel onto my vulnerable toes.

A painful hiss escaped from my lips and I almost doubled over from both shock and agony. Legs are one of the most powerful muscles in the human body. You could kill someone if you kicked them in the head hard enough and Sinon had stomped on my foot with full force. I thanked my lucky stars the game's pain absorber numbed it down to the mere feeling of someone dropping a textbook on it.

"I think I'm dying," I croaked. Sinon crossed her arms into a tight knot, choosing not to dignify my words with a response.

I took a moment to curl my wounded toes and placed a hand over my eyes, "This is skirting the line of abuse, y'know?" I said to her. Jeez, never thought the mere mention of wearing perfume would set her off.

My hand slid off my face. The gears started turning. A light bulb went off over my head. The hamster running in its wheel chugged a gallon of caffeine and bolted fast enough to break it and the sound barrier.

That was it! How did I forget something so important?! "...Perfume."

Sinon threw me a sideways glance, "What?"

"Perfume. Perfume, Sinon! You use it smell nice. Smell so nice that most guys would be slack-jawed idiots after a good whiff," I opened my game menu and started writing a new message to Argo in an ecstatic fury.

"I'm not sure where you're going with this," Sinon looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"That was me, you see? I was the slack-jawed idiot; all thanks to the one person that may be able to help me out of this situation," I finished the message and looked it over.

 _Argo, I need you to help me get in contact with someone. I may have a way to hit Ikuchi where it really hurts._

Once I sent the message off, I paced back in forth in my room, mumbling to myself and wringing my hands. I had a chance now, a way to turn the tables. It was small, but damn it, it was better than what I had earlier. I found the crack in Ikuchi's walls and I had to exploit it with everything I had.

Argo's message popped up a minute later. My inbox was still emitting its chime when I opened it.

 _Just give me a name and I'll start lookin'. First one's free by the way. Next time I'm chargin'. ;)_

I wrote my message down as Sinon looked over my shoulder.

 _Her name's Serena. She's a member of Ikuchi's squadron._

"Serena? Isn't she the one that warned us about Ikuchi in the first place?" she asked.

"Yup, and she's close to him. Close enough to know that he's been obsessing over beating you at all hours of the day. If anyone can help us out right now, it's her," I said. Sinon raised a brow at me.

"So you remembered her because of her perfume?" she questioned.

"Well...yeah," I answered with a twinge of embarrassment, heat flushing up to my cheeks. "I-In my defense, she did smell really nice."

Sinon gave an exasperated breath and shook her head in what I could only assume to be disappointment, "I'm sure she did."

Somehow, I got the tiniest feeling my defense didn't work so well.

It took a while before I got a reply. Serena wasn't online, but Argo would shoot me a message when she got a hold of her. While I would have loved to talk to her as soon as possible, at least it'd give me enough time to come up with a solid plan. This was arguably my last chance. It wasn't a good idea to squander it.

"So what are you going to do while Argo looks for her?" Sinon asked. I strode over to the footlocker at the end of my bed and started dropping off my ammo and weapons.

"Go on with my day, I guess. I might be able to gain some levels, give myself more of a fighting chance. If Argo's right, and there are pros getting ideas about hunting me down, I need to be as strong as possible to meet them head on," It took me a moment to realize I sounded a lot like Sinon just then. Maybe she was starting to rub off on me.

Speaking of, Sinon crossed her arms and after a brief pause said, "I don't think that's the smart thing to do."

That caught me by surprise. This conversation was starting to sound awfully familiar, "Don't tell me you want me to leave GGO again."

She didn't answer. Which in a way answered my question.

"Sinon, I thought we settled this. I'm not letting Ikuchi dictate what I do. Dumb pride and all that," I said.

"There's being prideful and there's being stupid. There are people in this game who have been playing longer than I have. A couple of levels won't give you a fighting chance against them if they come after you. I might not even be able to help when they do," She didn't sound angry. Her words were flat and plain; as indifferent as if she were talking about paint drying.

She wasn't looking to start another fight and to be fair, neither was I.

"You think they're gonna wipe the floor with me?" I asked quietly. She came and knelt down beside me.

"Just keep your head down while Argo looks for Serena. That's it. You can come right back when that's done and start feeding your dumb pride again," she said. I sighed and ran a hand over my hair. I had to admit, running around outside Glocken with the way things were now didn't sound so appealing. I've dealt with bounty hunting groups who only had a couple of brain cells spread between them and players who could get tricked into a plastic bag, but pros were a whole 'nother ball game. They were the crème de la crème of GGO. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people all bearing down on me with the same skills and tenacity as Sinon. I didn't relish the thought. Realistically, I had no chance against them. Maybe one or two, if fortune was on my side, but any more than that and I'd be a smear on the floor in no time.

"Okay, alright, fine. How about we cut a deal then? I'll stay off GGO until Argo gives me a shout, but you," I pointed a finger at her, "are going back to ALO."

Sinon recoiled a bit for a brief moment but quickly regained her composure, "Why?"

"Because you have friends there that are worried about you. Look, you don't have to tell them what's been bugging you, but you can at least show up and ease their minds a bit because at the end of the day, they still care about your well-being," I said. She looked unsure, her gaze bouncing everywhere around my room.

"I...maybe I do, but..." she mumbled.

"Please, Sinon. We're supposed to be partners. That means that sometimes we have to compromise. Don't worry, you can come right back when we're done and criticize me about my dumb pride again. Promise," I smiled. Sinon gave a small exhale that might have been a half-hearted attempt at a laugh, but didn't offer more than that. She crossed her arms for a half minute then gave a meek shrug of her shoulders.

"I think I need to be there anyways. For a friend of mine. It's the least I can do," she said. I nodded and shut my footlocker.

"Okay. Then I'll see you later."

With those parting words, Sinon left my apartment and I collapsed onto my bed again. I swept my fingers in front of me to open my game menu, thumbed the log out button, and felt my consciousness slip away. How long it would before I'd see the stainless steel walls of my apartment was anyone's guess. All I could do now was bide my time and hope for the best

I need to stop hoping because the universe likes to kick my teeth in when I do.

Day after day drifted by and I didn't get so much as a peep from Argo. A week passed with nothing. I'd wake up in the morning, check my computer for messages, brush my teeth, have breakfast, check my messages, go out and buy groceries, do chores, check messages, make dinner, check messages, get ready for bed, go to bed, check messages, go to bed again, repeat every day until late March gave way to early April. It was agonizing.

Nearly two weeks had passed before I finally got the message I was waiting for. It sat in my inbox, all pretty, covered in glitter, and wrapped with a cute red bow.

Not really, but it may as well have felt like that.

Argo apologized for the long wait. Apparently, Serena led a busy life. The last time she logged in was around the time I first met her back in Pulsar. But it was hard to blame her for that. I didn't know anything about her personal life after all. For all I knew, she had a lot of real life responsibilities and those trumped everything else.

The message told me to meet up with Argo back in Third Eye, which suited me just fine. It was out of the way and nobody would stumble across it unless they were intentionally looking for it. I gathered my things from my apartment and headed out in a light jog. As I made my way over there, I opened my menu and pressed a small tab on the top left of the window marked with a stylized 'A', bringing me to the AmuSphere's main application page where I could see my friends list. Sinon was online, playing ALO to boot. I wrote a quick message of my own to let her know what was going on and made my way to Third Eye.

The door to the bar was just as noisy and hard to open as last time. It took a few good pulls for it to finally open with an awful creaking noise. Argo was sitting alone at one of the stools. The elderly NPC from my last visit stood behind the bar cleaning an expensive looking bottle of whiskey with a rag.

"Isn't it illegal to serve alcohol to minors?" I remarked as I closed the door behind me. Argo turned her head just enough so that I could see her sharp eyes underneath the hood.

"I won't tell if you won't," she said, then gestured to the stool next to her, "That Serena girl said she'd swing by in a few minutes. Y'know, I thought she'd be easier to find. I was half tempted to have ya pay twice my going rate."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't. I'm hard up for credits right now, what with being gone for so long," I sat down at the stool she indicated. The elderly bartender greeted me by way of a quick glance before returning to his riveting job of cleaning his whiskey bottle.

"Where's Sinon?" Argo asked.

"In Alfheim right now. I already let her know to come here when she could," I said. Argo pursed her lips together and hummed in a knowing tone.

"Ya talk to her lately?" she asked.

"Not since I left GGO. Figured she needed some time alone," I replied. Argo nodded along, resting her arms on the hickory counter top.

"How are things between you and her?" she faced me with a raised brow and the ghost of a smirk on her face.

"Alright, I guess. We had a small hiccup here and there but nothing too bad at least," I said. Argo rolled her eyes.

"No, no. I mean, how are _things_ with her," she said with a snicker full of mirth. I'd be lying if I said I was mildly surprised at what she was hinting at.

"Oh no, don't start. There is no 'thing' with her," I said.

"Ya sure? Because I'd pay a shiny credit or two for that kind of info."

"Yes I'm sure," I answered pointendly. "Just like I'm sure that you're going to turn around and charge ten times as much to some sorry sucker willing to pay."

"Now you're catchin' on," Argo laughed. "C'mon it won't cost ya nothin'. People can't resist a good love story. That's why those sappy romance books sell. Look at it this way, why d'ya think the news gossips nonstop every time some celebrity relationship gets exposed?"

"Because they're celebrities," I said.

"And because people treat celebrity lives like a TV show," Argo wagged a finger at me. "They look at 'em like a source of entertainment. They talk to their friends about 'em because everyone knows who they are. People love feelin' like their involved in somethin'. They'll trip all over themselves to be part of a crowd and Sinon draws a big crowd. If a story broke out that she's gettin' intimate with someone, Glocken's gonna clamor for all the sweet details and who's gonna provide 'em?" Argo patted her chest, "Why none other than little ol' me, for a modest price."

"And you think there's a demand for Sinon and me? She can't really have that many fans," I said. Not to mention that I had all the popularity of a wet sock right now.

"Oh no? She was the face of GGO for a while after the last BoB. 'Course, Ikuchi's lookin' to take that crown from her," Argo replied. "With the way things are going, he's on track to bein' the new poster boy."

I found myself scoffing at the idea. Ikuchi may have had the numbers and the resources, but it meant nothing if he couldn't take Sinon on in a straight fight. Nobody would respect him if he couldn't walk the walk, especially after the bold claims he made about being superior to her.

He was gutsy, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew how to shift things in his favor. My current problem was proof enough of that. "This bounty he put on me, I think he was using it as leverage to get me to join him so I could tell him everything he wanted to know about her like weak points or holes in her thinking."

"Or he coulda used it to harass ya outta GGO, leaving Sinon to fend for herself. Who can say?" Argo shrugged.

"Either way, it's pretty clear he wants me gone. It's gonna take a lot more than that for me to leave though," I said.

"Because you two are made for each other, right?"

"Still going on with that?" I asked. Argo tilted her head to the side, then wiggled in her seat like she was dancing to a tune I couldn't hear.

"Why wouldn't I be? Ya ain't the only one I've been askin' about this," Her lips pulled back to reveal white teeth, "I've been botherin' Sinon about the same thing. You'll never guess what she had to say about ya."

It was a struggle not to let the curiosity show on my face. Sinon kept her emotions under lock and key. She liked me enough to keep me around, and laughed at a couple of my jokes sometimes, but finding out exactly what she thought about me? I wanted to know. And not because I was attracted to her.

No sir.

Definitely not that.

"W-what'd she say?" I tried to play the cool and disinterested role, but Argo just laughed in my face.

"Gotta pay to play, buddy," She raised her hand in front of me and rubbed the pads of her fingers against her thumb, "What was it ya said? Ten times as much as I paid? Sounds fair, don'tcha think?"

I didn't get a chance to answer her because the door to Third Eye swung open with so much force it bashed against wall next to it. I practically jumped in my chair and Argo turned around to face the newcomer.

It was her helper Noya, still dressed in his navy blue fatigues and still looking like death with his sickly complexion. His sunken eyes focused on Argo as he hissed through clenched teeth, "We got a problem, boss. One tail. Damn tenacious one at that."

I noticed Serena standing behind him. Most of her was hiding behind Noya, but with the way she kept peeking at something outside the bar, she must have been worried. Our eyes met briefly and a flash of recognition flashed in her golden eyes.

"Ya know who it is?" Argo jumped out of her seat to meet them.

"She says it's a guy from her squad," Noya stepped aside to let Serena in and shut the door behind her.

The outfit she wore was more conservative than her last one, much to my libido's dismay — a dark red turtleneck underneath a combat jacket similar to the one I wore and a pair of dark denim jeans with two uzi's strapped to her thighs. However, clothing aside she was as pleasing to the eye as when we first met, all womanly curves and a presence that oozed sex appeal. Even if she could be a ditz at times, she was a terribly attractive one.

She quietly made her way over to me and spoke in a low whisper, "I just got done with exams, you know? I soooo don't need this drama right now. This is like, the opposite, of what I had in mind for a good Friday night."

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Serena," I leaned back when a sweet smelling fragrance caressed my senses and oh god, it was cinnamon this time, "U-Uh...why are you being followed by your own team? Did something happen?"

"No. M-Maybe? I don't know! Why did you call me anyways? Like, didn't I say you should stay out of this? Why didn't you listen?" she protested. Well, with how high-pitched her voice went towards the end of her questions, it was more like a child whining for a toy.

"I did. For a while. But thanks to Ikuchi I can't do that anymore," I glanced over her shoulder to see Argo and Noya conversing among themselves. "Look, we'll talk about this later. We need to deal with this first." I said.

I brought Serena over to them and said, "Okay so what's the deal?"

"Guy's been following her since she left the building where their squad HQ is located," Noya shook his head. "Damn tenacious tracker. Once I made contact with her, I tried to lose him in the alley's but he keeps catching up. He lost sight of us on the way over here, but we have maybe a few minutes tops before he's knocking on the door."'

"Got it. Serena you know who this guy is?" I asked.

"Uhm...ugh, jeez I forget his name but he's got weird hair and wears all these dead things on his armor. It's gross," she said. Argo and I exchanged a look.

"Patchy facial hair, big enough to be in two different time zones, goes by Mezu?" I asked.

"Y-yeah…? Wait, yeah him!" Serena said. Bingo. I should be on a game show.

"Well, that makes things a tad bit easier," I looked around until I spotted the hallway tucked in the corner that led to the storage room Argo used to conduct her meetings. "Hide in the back. Do not move a muscle until Argo and Noya get you out of there."

Serena hurried to the back without another word. I settled back on my barstool and twiddled my thumbs together. Running into Mezu again was pretty low on the list of things I could get excited for, right below car crashes and the heat death of the universe. But like a good many things, there's a way to turn inconveniences around if you knew where to look. If Mezu was looking for Serena, I'd just have to give him something even more irresistible.

Argo came up to my side. "Ya got an idea there?" ahe asked.

"Kinda making it up as I go along Gotta work with what we have," I said, eyeing the bar's entrance. "Stay in the back with Serena. When you see a chance to sneak her out of here, take it. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Whatever ya say. Break a leg."

I didn't have to wait long. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, the door flew open and Mezu barreled inside like a runaway freight train. He took one good look around the place and noticed it was pretty much empty until his eyes settled on me. A disgusting grin spread across his face, "Well, what do we have here?"

I looked up from the bar and gave him the friendliest smile I could muster. Time to start the show, "Hey there big boy. Come here often?"

"What the hell are you still doing here? I thought Ikuchi ran your ass out of GGO," he said as he stalked over to me. I shrugged oh so innocently.

"What, can't a guy kick back with a cold drink after a long day of dodging your third-rate mooks?" I asked. Mezu circled around me until he stood behind my back and I felt his hot breath touch my neck. It made my skin crawl.

Sinon was right. He did smell weird.

"You don't belong here and you really need to learn to shut the fuck up before I do it for you," he growled. The anger was bubbling underneath his words, like boiling water in a pressure cooker. It just needed the right spark to let it out.

I turned to face him with a sugary sweet smile. Mezu towered over me, casting his shadow over my body, his leathery lips stretched into a distasteful glower and his nostrils flaring like a maddened horse. Best of all, his attention was fixed solely on me and not on the corridor behind him. Just had to push more.

"C'mon Mezu. It's not good to scowl, your face will get stuck like that." I said. I caught sight of Serena and Argo peeking around the corner, the former's eyes fraught with worry. I gave them a meaningful look and, with as much subtlety as I could, motioned towards the door. Argo caught on quick, taking the lead with the other two in tow as they snuck past. Mezu was none the wiser.

"Joke all you want now because we're gonna bury both you and Sinon. Drop you down to the bottom rung where you belong," Mezu sneered.

"So is the cheesy villain schtick your own thing or did Ikuchi tell you to do that?" I said. Argo slipped past Mezu's massive frame as quiet as a mouse, or a rat in her case, with Noya and Serena following close behind. She was already at the door by the time they caught up and I breathed an internal sigh of relief.

It didn't last long. Argo tried pushing the door but it didn't budge. That's when I remembered. It took several hard tugs for me to open it from the other side and I made a hell of a lot of noise in the meantime — noise we couldn't afford to make now. Great. I needed to keep Mezu's attention, so much so that he'd ignore everything else. Which meant I had to up the ante.

"I still owe you for the stunt you pulled last time. You wouldn't have lasted half a second if it weren't for Sinon," Mezu said, "Course when we're done with you, she'll be next and I won't be as gentle about it when it's her turn."

I swallowed and counted to ten in my head to rein in the anger building in my chest. Then in a low voice, I said to him, with a tight smile and all the endearing kindness in the world, "I liked you better when you were on your knees."

Then I threw a straight jab at his face.

I didn't put a lot of power into it and Mezu was a big guy to begin with, but the sheer surprise of the blow sent him stumbling back half a step. He stared back at me, the corner of his lip twitching.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," I said. Mezu didn't move, then in the blink of an eye he roared and lunged for me.

There wasn't even a foot of distance between us. I didn't have time to react. We were in a safe zone and I wouldn't take any damage, but that didn't stop Mezu from grabbing me by the throat, yanking me out of my chair, and pinning my upper body against the bar counter with my feet dangling uselessly above the floor.

"I can't believe a dumbfuck like you managed to last this long," he squeezed hard enough to crush my airway. Thank the gods I could still breathe just fine. The AmuSphere wouldn't go so far as to actually simulate being strangled, but my neck was getting sore and being choked out by a guy that's never heard of a haircut wasn't a fun experience in the least.

"Why are you mad? Was it something I said?" I wheezed.

"You just made the worst mistake of your life," Mezu snarled. My spine started to pop and I got a distinct, fear-tinged feeling that he really would snap me in two. I tried to turn my head away, looking for anything to fight back with, but all I could manage to see was that damn elderly bartender still cleaning the same whiskey bottle.

"Aren't you going to do something?" I hissed at him. The bartender spared me one neutral look then promptly ignored me.

Customer service is dead.

I felt Mezu shift and focused on him just in time to catch a fist to the jaw. My vision flashed white. A second blow straight to the nose hit hard enough for the back of my head to rebound off the countertop.

Simulation or not, I saw stars. Waves of nausea crashed against my consciousness. I lost track of where I was and it took me a minute to make sense of my jumbled senses. The AmuSphere can absorb pain all it wants, but it hardly helped when it came to getting smacked around hard enough for my brain to pinball around in my skull.

"Y-You punch like a girl," I managed to say. Mezu slammed me against the countertop again, hard enough that I heard wood splintering underneath me.

"Still making jokes, eh? You really don't know what's best for you."

"Nah, no, that was a compliment. You ever been punched by a girl? It hurts like hell. Especially when they lug around Anti-Material rifles all day," I reached inside my jacket to pull my pistol out, but Mezu was quick to react, grabbing my wrist as I took aim and pushing it up into the air. Just like I hoped.

Fun fact, guns are loud. About as loud as an airplane engine in fact. When they're fired outdoors they can cause potential hearing loss without protection and even then, you'd get a fair amount of ringing in the ol' ears. Indoors it's even worse, especially in a small room like Third Eye. GGO's systems were designed to lower the volume for the sake of comfort, but it could still get plenty noisy.

Noisy enough to miss certain other loud sounds.

The gun barked in my hand. Chips of paint and wood rained down on our heads. I kept pulling the trigger until ceiling tiles were falling off and my gun finally clicked empty.

Mezu wrenched my wrist at an unnatural angle and jerked the pistol out of my grasp, throwing it across the room at the front door.

Where the others were nowhere to be seen.

"You really are dumber than you look," he said. I thrashed against him, trying to break his hold, but his grip was ironclad.

"Won't get any argument from me," I grimaced. Argo and Noya got Serena out, but my worries were far from over. When I pissed him off, I was hoping to make a break for it and have him chase me around Glocken a few times. Now I was all alone with his hand around my neck and no avenue of escape. I needed to think up a new plan quick or Mezu would wring me like a towel.

His fist pulled back and caught me in the side of the head, then again at my face. I tried to protect my head with my arms, but then another punch socked me in the gut, forcing the air from my lungs.

Another bang reverberated through the bar, but it didn't come from my pistol. It came from the front door.

"Hey!"

Sinon stood at the entrance, hand outstretched from slamming the door open and eyes alight with the kind of burning anger I only saw when I really pissed her off. Mezu hesitated — not long, probably a second and a half, but his attention was elsewhere and in the heat of a fight, that's all someone needed.

I reached back, grabbed the bartender's whiskey bottle by the neck, and brought it down on his head with a comical _ponk!_

Cracks spider-webbed on the bottle's surface. Mezu cried out and his grip loosened enough to pry myself free as he stumbled backwards. I swung again as hard as I could, bringing its full weight down on his scalp. Glass shrieked. The bottle shattered in my hand, and whiskey splattered the both of us with a heady, warm scent.

Mezu blinked to get the liquor out of his eyes as it streamed down his face and dripped off his chin. The vicious snarl on his face stretched to near-inhuman levels as a wicked, almost feral roar left his lips, "You son of a bitch! I'm gonna beat your ass!"

"You want some nuts with that, pal?" I pushed myself off the counter to gain a quick burst of momentum. I reared a leg back, took aim, and swung my foot at his crotch. Right in the peanuts.

It doesn't matter how good pain absorbers are. That will always hurt.

Mezu squealed. He freaking _squealed._ Two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle dropped to the ground with the kind of yowling that would put any opera singer to shame.

I turned and bolted for the door. Sinon tried to sidestep, but I grabbed her by the hand as I passed and ran while the thrill of middle-school style payback still pumped through my veins. Sinon misstepped but caught her footing and kept pace with me until I brought us down to street level and pushed through the crowds. Some of them shouted in irritation, but they fell on deaf ears as I stopped inside a nearby alley.

Sinon looked over her shoulder to make sure we weren't followed then braced a hand against the brick wall to catch her breath. I pressed my back against the space next to her and slid down until I sat on the ground, giggling like a madman.

"Why is it whenever I leave you alone," Sinon sat down next to me, her eyes fixed on the ground, "you always find a way to get yourself into trouble?"

I tried to stop giggling long enough to answer her. It took a few tries, "Ha ha, can't...can't help myself. I'm a walking magnet for trouble," I stretched my arms out wide. "Look on the bright side, it makes things interesting."

Sinon paused, then reached for the inside of her coat and drew out my pistol. She handed it to me and threw me a soft look, "Are you holding up okay? I passed by Argo on the way over here and she said Mezu was punching you."

"Oh, yeah. He did. Th-those were freebies though. No big deal," I nodded my thanks and shoved my Oroshi Nine into its holster before massaging my jaw. "Was that why you looked so pissed when you showed up?"

Sinon drew her knees in to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "He was hurting you. Of course I was angry," she said, her face touched with concern.

"Aww Sinon, I didn't know you cared," I teased her. She gave a weak shrug of her shoulders instead of the stern glare I expected from her. Her lips were set in a thin line, one foot shuffling on the dusty floor. That worried me. "...Sinon?"

Her foot came to a sudden stop and she drew in a short breath. "Something happened."

Oh no. The look on her face — it wasn't sad or depressed. It was more like she was stuck in deep, deep thought trying to find an answer that eluded her. I had become too used to seeing that expression on her. It was never anything happy and I doubted that would change now.

"Is it about that...thing?" I asked, careful to broach the subject.

"It's my friend. She lost someone. Someone very dear to her," She sighed, then looked out to the alley's entrance at the throng of people passing by. "Her name was Yuuki. She...passed away."


	9. Headhunters: Chapter 9

**Hello, y'all! I'd been poring over this chapter over and over again just to be sure it was going in the direction I wanted, so hopefully it came out okay. Thanks for sticking by me all this time guys, thank you a ton. And Happy New Year! Even though I'm a little late.**

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Chapter 9

I'm no stranger to death. Most people aren't. The vast majority of living humans on this earth have been touched by it in some way or another whether it'd be by putting down their pets or mourning a grandparent who's time had come. It's as constant in our world as life and the cold, unavoidable fact that someday we'll die lingers in the back of all our minds.

Some people fight against it. Some ignore it. Others accept it and try to make the most out of what time they have left. We all find a way to cope with that one clinical fact: life has its end.

But it doesn't make the news of someone passing any easier.

"Sinon," I began, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. She hadn't moved an inch since she told me about Yuuki's death. "I'm sorry to hear that. Is your friend doing okay?"

"Mm, I don't know. She knew Yuuki's time was short, so I think she may have been ready for it on some level. But, how ready can you really be when it happens?" she asked. She got me there. When someone close to you dies, it's like the whole world gets flipped upside down. Everything is familiar, yet nothing was. The places you go are the same, the routine you go through every day is the same, but something is _off._ There's a piece missing. A part of you that left with that person you held close. And it can be hard to replace.

She opened her mouth several times, but no words came. She sighed out of a mix of frustration and weariness.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What am I supposed to say to her?" she asked a few moments later. I hesitated. Comforting a friend who lost someone dear to them, it's a morbid thing to have experience in. I knew that all too well; but I couldn't think of something before Sinon started speaking again. "She's my best friend. She tries to keep smiling everyday and she looks like she's come to terms with everything, but I can see it in her eyes. She's hurting."

"Just being there for her is enough, I think." I said

"It's not enough for me," Sinon said with a flicker of bitterness in her tone. "There has to be something else I can do. Otherwise, I'm…"

Sinon let her sentence hang in the air. Her words were more subdued when she continued. "I want to be the friend she sees me as. I owe her that much."

I managed to hide my frown as I faced her. "You owe it to yourself to ease up too, you know?"

"Does that matter?" she asked.

"A lot. I mean for goodness sake, Sinon you're not a robot. Nobody expects you to give flawless support on demand and neither should you," I said to her. "You're her friend and you can be there for her. That's enough. Even if you only manage to get her mind off things for a few minutes, that's enough."

"But I want to do more," Sinon mumbled. I grunted, staring at the blank wall in front of me.

"Don't we all?" I answered her. After getting up and checking the streets for any sign of Mezu, I turned back to her, "Trust me on this one, okay? Your friend cared about Yuuki, so let her know you care about her the same way. Please?"

Before she could answer, a chime rang in my ear. A message had come through. I sighed, tossed an apologetic glance at Sinon, then checked it. It was from Argo. She had taken Serena to the rooftops of the one of the buildings adjacent to the one that housed Third Eye where they were waiting for us. I closed my menu and told Sinon, and together we walked back out into the streets.

Orange and violet streaks of light reached across the skies like ethereal fingers as the sun sank further into the horizon. Shadows creeped around every corner and stretched far and wide, from the base of skyscrapers to the bottom of trash cans. Then right on cue, Glocken sprang to life. Light poles lining the wide open street flickered on and in the space between them, holographic billboards switched from a boring blue screen to a dazzling display of garish colors that stung my eyes.

On a friday night in the week after exams, any popular game would be filled to the brim with players. GGO was no different. Sinon and I were practically forced shoulder to shoulder as we made our way through one of Glocken's main thoroughfares, pushing and squeezing past the brutes, the slender, and everything in between.

I tugged on Sinon's sleeve to grab her attention and kept my voice low enough for only her to hear, "We'll talk about all this later. And give my condolences to your friend. I know it's not easy losing someone you care about."

She gave a small nod. "I'll do that."

We spent the entire walk back in communal silence. It gave me a chance to collect my thoughts. As much as it pained me to say, there wasn't much I could do to help Sinon. I simply didn't know enough about the situation to give her any meaningful advice, let alone any help she'd actually accept. I gave her my take on things and I could try to nudge her into taking my words to heart, but whether she'd accept it or not was her decision. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Therein lies another problem. Between this and her avoiding her friends, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on in the real world. Sinon didn't want me poking into her personal life. I knew that. But now?

Is ignoring everything really the right thing to do?

I didn't want to sound like I knew what was best for her, but if someone I cared about was clearly going through a rough spot, was it fine to leave it alone because they asked?

The answer eluded me, but I knew one thing for certain. I had a choice to make. I could listen to her and hope she works it out alone or try to help even if she ends up hating me for it.

As much as I wanted to sit down and think on it, there were other problems I needed to address. After all, if Ikuchi ended up winning our little feud, I was going to be in a whole new world of trouble. One thing at a time.

God, I needed a drink.

It took a few minutes of walking before we got to our destination. The building Argo specified in her message looked like it used to be an apartment complex at some point in its life. Not one of the sweet luxurious ones either, where it costs an arm and a leg for the esteemed privilege of walking through the front door. In fact, the glass doors were shattered with jagged pieces still jutting out of the metal frames. I took care not to cut myself as I stepped one foot after the other through them. You know, lest I _literally_ lose an arm and a leg.

Am I clever or what?

The reception area didn't look much better than the entrance. Bits of trash littered the wooden floor and some kind of mystery fluid stained the area around the reception desk. Tasteless graffiti, done by the devs or by the classy folks of the internet, covered the walls all the way from our spot to the two staircases at the far end of the lobby leading to the higher floors. Dust draped over every piece of furniture, from the leather chairs to our left to the nearby conference table to our right.

"Say what you want about Argo, but she has a knack for finding places with personality," I said while reading a charming spray painted message about my mother.

"She doesn't want to be anywhere eye-catching," Sinon said.

"So she went for eye sore. Got it," I replied. We walked up the stairs together, passing floor after floor until we got to roof access. The metal door was propped open with a cinderblock. I pushed and held it open for Sinon to pass by.

The rooftop, unlike the rest of the building, actually looked like it'd seen a fair amount of use. The gravel floor was cleared of debris. Christmas lights hung between metal poles planted in each corner of the roof. A mat of fake grass covered about half of the space with a kids sized goal net standing on one end. The other half had an assortment of lawn chairs and recliners arranged in a loose semicircle. Serena sat in one of the chairs near the end, absently tossing a beach ball up in the air a couple feet before catching it and doing it over again. Behind her, Noya was leaning over the rooftop's concrete safety barrier and using a sniper rifle to scan the streets below.

He was a fine lookout, a reliable worker, and a competent guy all around, but he really had to work on his subtlety because he glanced at Serena for about five seconds longer than necessary then scrunched his nose with a quick, sharp inhale.

I held my tongue. Stones and glass houses.

A presence slithered to my side and Argo slinked in front of me with her arms crossed.

"Did ya get rid of Mezu?" she asked while looking over my shoulder, likely to make sure no one had snuck up on us.

I responded with a devilish grin. "Beat him in a game of Whack-A-Troll."

"He broke a whiskey bottle over his head," Sinon added.

"Put it on my tab."

Argo snickered then put a hand on my back as she led us to the others. Serena was the first to notice us, tossing the beach ball to the side and jumping up to her feet.

"So what's this about anyways?" she asked when we came closer. "This isn't like, some weird way of asking me out is it?"

I let out a slow exhale from my nostrils. That was a hell of a leap of logic to make. I couldn't look more bewildered if I tried. "Cool your engines, sister. It's nothing like that."

"O-Oh, that's good," She said while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Cuz you're not really my type."

Okay, ow.

"He called you here to ask about the bounty your leader put on him. Know anything about it?" Sinon stepped up to my side, utterly devoid of any levity. Hell, the quiet intensity in her eyes forced Serena to take a couple steps back, almost bumping into the recliner behind her.

"N-No, I don't. I mean, god, I don't even know what's going on right now," she said.

"Here's the short version: Ikuchi's put a 15 million credit bounty on my head for the keycard we already gave him back at Pulsar. Now I can't walk ten feet without somebody attacking me looking to cash in," I explained.

"Is that...a lot of money?" Serena asked.

"It's 150,000 yen."

"Yikes," she muttered under her breath. "W-well what do I have to do with any of this?"

"You're in Ikuchi's inner circle. You can do things I can't." I said. Serena looked between the three of us. It was hard not to miss the discomfort on her face.

"Kinda? I mean, I'm not really popular in Yokai right now," she said.

"Why's that?" Sinon asked.

"I don't log in a ton. I guess that, like, means I don't pull my own weight? I don't do anything with the other squad members either," she explained. "It's lame. They want me to do stuff like join tournaments and fight other players, but that kinda stuff bothers me."

"So that's why Mezu was tailing you? He doesn't trust you?" I asked.

"Yeah. Most of them don't. But Ikuchi tells them to back off and leave me alone. He understands that I don't have a lot of free time."

The idea of Ikuchi being decent to people almost made my head spin. Still, it showed he had a soft spot for her, however small it could be, which suited my purposes just fine. "Could you get close to him? Maybe find out where he's keeping that keycard we gave him?"

Serena looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "What for?"

"We're stealing it back."

All three girls looked at me the same way.

Sinon was the first to break the silence. "W-What's this all of the sudden?"

"I'm with her. Why ya goin' through the trouble of makin' that bounty real?" Argo added.

"Because it's all part of the plan," I said, flashing my teeth in a satisfied grin. "Stealing the keycard's only the first step. I'm taking the opportunity to spit in Ikuchi's eye while I'm at it."

"Oh?" Argo recovered quick, curiosity coloring her voice.

"I'm guessing he hasn't found the vault it opens?" I asked Serena. She shook her head. "Then I will and I'll take everything inside it. After that, he can have the damn thing."

"When it's pretty much useless to him," Sinon noted.

"And he won't know that until it's too late," I finished.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, but this is going to like, hurt Ikuchi, right? I don't want to make things worse for him," Serena argued. I expected as much. There was no way she would go with the plan if it meant betraying his trust. She worried about him. I gleaned that much when she mentioned his obsession with beating Sinon.

"I get that, but I can't do a thing until I get the heat off my back," I said, holding up both hands as a placating gesture. "Once I get rid of this bounty, I'll help you deal with Ikuchi, okay? Promise."

Serena frowned. The girl started walking back and forth in tiny paces. Two steps forward, two steps back, all while scratching at the space above her ears. After a minute or so of silence, she came to a stop and faced me with a stern expression. "F-Fine, I'll do it. But you promised 'kay? No taking that back."

"Yeah. You have my word," I said. She stared at me for a moment longer, then released a tired breath.

"So find out where he keeps the keycard, steal it, then hand it over to you?" she asked.

"Pretty much. And if you can, try to figure out where he's looked already. It'll make things easier for us," I said.

"This almost makes me miss exams," she muttered. "Ikuchi's online right now, so I'm gonna get this over with."

We exchanged contact info and bid her farewell. Once she left the rooftop, Argo turned around and gave me a light punch on the shoulder. "You're promisin' a lot to her, ya know? I don't think Ikuchi's the type to listen to whatever someone has to say, 'specially not the guy who's fixin' to ruin his day."

"I know, I know." I didn't say it out loud, but I hadn't the foggiest idea how to convince Ikuchi to give up his vendetta. How do you reason with someone so entrenched in the warpings of their own mind? It'd be easier to read with your eyes closed.

Getting him to leave Sinon alone would be essentially asking him to change what he wanted as a person. Of course he'd resist the idea. People are funny like that. They can be too proud, stubborn, or in some cases ignorant to change for the better. Their entire identity is tied to their outlooks and deep down, they won't let go of who they are. You can change the curtains but the window's always going to have the same view.

Ikuchi wouldn't give up so easily. He'd probably die before doing it.

It's possible I was being pessimistic. I wouldn't know until I knuckled down and tried. But first things first.

"Argo, I'm going to need your services again," I said to her, scratching an eyebrow in thought, "Uh, if I remember right, the vault is somewhere in the Wastelands. That's where we got the keycard off the previous owner. While Serena works on things on her end, I'm going to need you to scope that zone out. If she can tell us where Ikuchi's searched already, we can cross reference that info with what you dig up and hopefully pin down a location."

"Long as ya got the credits, ya got all my info at your fingertips," Argo said while leading us back to the rooftop access door and down the stairs.

"Info's not the only thing I want," I stopped at the stairwell landing and turned to her as she descended. "I want you. Noya too."

Argo blinked with a flat look. Then she reached up and fiddled with a lock of her hair like some bashful schoolgirl, "Jeez, this is all so sudden. Ya didn't even ask me out to dinner or nothin'."

"Not like that," I groaned. She apparently didn't hear me.

"On top of that, ya want to get in on Noya too? Who'da thought ya'd be such a player?" Argo leered. Behind her, the man in question shuddered.

" _Agh_. I mean, I need you as an extra gun," I clarified to her. "The pros are coming out of the woodworks now. Things could get messy."

Argo didn't reply until we made it down to the apartment building's entrance. There wasn't a trace of her usual snarky attitude when she did. "Sorry, I'm an info broker not a bodyguard. Gettin' shot at ain't in the job description."

"The best businesses evolve all the time," I clasped my hands together and gave her a small shrug.

"There ain't gonna be any evolvin' done. I ain't got the kinda manpower you'd want and I'd be at risk for losin' my stuff too." Argo replied.

"Just two people is all I need. We don't need to fight if bullets are flying, we just need to survive," I shrugged. "Safety in numbers."

Argo still didn't looked convinced. She exchanged glances with Noya, who merely shrugged in response. "Word might get out if I'm helpin' a wanted man. If the other brokers catch wind of me protectin' their meal ticket, it'd be a nightmare to deal with."

"We're all taking risks here, Argo. That one's yours." I said. "Plus, I think we can both agree that these are extraordinary circumstances."

She raised a single golden eyebrow, "That so?"

"Your friend is involved for one," I tilted my head towards Sinon. "In fact, this whole thing started because Ikuchi has it out for her. In the grand scheme of things, I don't matter in this equation. So if you won't do it for me, then do it for her."

Argo considered it for a moment, "You expectin' it to be free?"

"No, I'm willing to pay," I assured her. She sniffed with her little button nose and crossed her arms.

"That's assumin' ya got the credits to do so," she said. "You're alright. Really, ya are. But I can't play favorites right now. You're gonna have to pay like everyone else and intel plus bodyguard duty is about as expensive as it can get."

I nodded in understanding. There was a reason she was laying this all out for me. I could pay for her intel or her protection, but she knew as well as I did that I didn't have the money for both. I wasn't a rich player. I sure as hell wasn't a high-ranked one either. Before all this, I made my living as a monster or treasure hunter, scrounging up valuable pelts and items then selling them off. While it offered oodles of excitement, it didn't exactly pay well if I didn't, y'know, _find_ anything worth selling.

Which I hadn't. Because I was too busy being hunted down.

She knew that. I expected her to know that. Which was why I already planned ahead.

"So you want a lot of money for this," I said, taking a few steps away from her. I chewed on my lip for a moment then met Argo's steady gaze with one of my own. "How's 15 million sound?"

The room got so quiet there was only the sound of the building's subtle creaking.

"Your bounty," Argo said.

"I gotta get rid of it somehow," I spread my arms out wide. "Once I raid the vault and the keycard's useless, you can have it and turn in my bounty. You get paid, I get off scot free, Ikuchi gets suckered, everyone's happy." I took a step forward and added, "And if you do join me, you might find out all kinds of info concerning what's in that vault. That can fetch a high price all on its own."

Now to seal the deal. I reached into my jacket, behind my back, and grabbed the smooth wooden grip tucked in the waistline of my pants, pulling it out. Charon gleamed in the moonlight bleeding through the front doors as I held it out to Argo, handle first, "If that's not enough, the bonus you'll get from this will make a pretty nice cherry on top. Consider it a down payment."

I could practically hear the _ka-ching_ go off in her head. Argo belted off a raucous laugh and her business persona slipped away in an instant as she slapped me hard in the back, "Sinon, I like your partner. He's smarter than he looks!"

Something akin to unease touched Sinon's features. She didn't speak. Her mouth tightened like she was trying to keep herself from doing so.

Argo didn't wait for a reply. She took Charon into her hands like it was a precious, delicate thing then it disappeared under the flaps of her cloak. I won't lie. I choked up a little. Charon held a lot of sentimental value to me but sacrifices had to be made.

Besides, Ikuchi would lose ten times more because of it.

"I'll give ya a call when I got somethin'. Lookin' forward to workin' with ya." Argo gave me a curtsy then headed towards the exit with Noya in tow. "By the way, don't forget that ya owe me the story about the two of ya. I'm feelin' generous so I won't come to collect until ya got some breathing room again. But you better be ready when I'm come knockin'."

With that she left, snickering all the while. Sinon still didn't say anything. She kept her arms crossed in a tight knot. I didn't sense anger from her. There was no scowl or grimace on her face, but it didn't take a genius to figure out something had troubled her.

I gave her a light pat on the arm to grab her attention, then said, "Walk with me? There's a cafe not too far from here. All this scheming makes a man thirsty."

The place I had in mind was a cozy hole in the wall by the name of Mugs Cafe. The entrance was down a small flight of stairs that led to the basement of an ammo store, away from the hustle and bustle of Glocken's main streets. Unlikes most of the places I visited in the past few weeks, it had a tame, relaxing atmosphere and apparently the cheesecake was to die for.

The interior was sparsely lit, with less than a dozen sphere shaped lamps hanging from a low ceiling. Sawdust covered the red cedar floor, its unmistakable smell mixing with the aromatic scent of freshly brewed coffee. Several TV's were secured on pillars spread intermittently throughout the main floor with their volume turned down to a low murmur

Sinon and I sat down in a corner booth, away from the few other people around as their conversations blended together into a sea of quiet voices. A popup menu appeared as I settled down, showing a list of various beverages and pastries. I picked a fruit smoothie and a tall glass appeared in front of me as soon as the menu closed out.

I tilted my glass towards her with a slight frown. "Y'know, we didn't really finish our conversation from last time."

Sinon had picked a milkshake and stirred it with the straw. A pregnant silence fell between us until she sucked in a breath, "Are you really okay with giving Charon to Argo?"

The change in subject threw me off for a moment. "Well not really, but what could I do?" I shrugged. Giving up a valuable weapon would be challenging to anyone and Charon had been my very first exotic weapon. It saved my life more times than I could count and with it, I could level the playing field against even the strongest of enemies that came my way. Now by giving it up, it could save me one last time. I was content with that.

"You're going to be up against the best of the best. They'll slaughter you unless—"

"Eww, facts."

" — Unless you're using Charon." Sinon said.

"So what did you want me to do?" I questioned.

"You could have asked me to deal with it. I have more than enough," she said.

"No. No thank you," I replied, tapping my fingers in a smooth rhythm on the tabletop. "This bounty thing is my problem. You've already done enough for me by watching my back. Any more and I start feeling like I'm taking advantage of you," I leaned back into my seat. "Besides, even if this whole keycard thing goes away, Ikuchi will just put another bounty on me for my gun."

"That's true, but…"

"It's the only valuable thing I have, Sinon," I said to her. "Once it's gone, Ikuchi won't have anything to use against me. No bounty hunter in this game is going to come after me for a bunch of common rarity items. Not after the fight I've been putting up."

Sinon bit her lip. "I see. You are taking your chances though."

"Life gets pretty dull without taking a chance every now and then. What's the harm in living a little?" I asked with a lopsided grin.

Sinon rolled her eyes, making a sound that was half-laugh, half-sigh and said, "You remind me of Yuuki."

"Oh yeah?" I asked. I took a long drink out of my smoothie, smacked my lips just to buy myself a couple more seconds, then asked the question that had been sitting in my mind for a while, "Can you tell me about her?"

Sinon's crystal blue eyes met mine before shying away. "Well...I met her in January at a cookout back in ALO. Right around the time I met you come to think of it."

I nodded along, beckoning her to continue.

"She was a nice girl, full of energy and life, it was hard to believe she was sick. It's like she never let it slow her down. We played ALO together a few times and the way she carried herself was...admirable. She had such a carefree attitude," Sinon breathed, a small smile on her lips. "I think you would have liked her."

"I think so too," I said, keeping my voice down. "She sounds like she was a wonderful person,"

"She was. She never let anything stop her from living her life. That kind of strength is something that I — ," Sinon tensed and looked away. "That I wish I had."

I frowned. She mentioned something like that before, about wanting to be stronger. Not in the usual way one assumes when playing a VRMMO either. It had been a goal for her since before we met, along with finding friends to rely on when the going got tough. Maybe in some way Yuuki had been both for her. A friend who could offer help and a source of strength for her. A role model to aspire to. But she was gone now.

"You'll get there," I said to her, putting on a small smile. "May not seem like that now, but you'll get there."

"I thought that too, but..." A sigh escaped her lips. Sinon rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. "What have I been doing all this time? Nothing. I haven't moved on at all."

The smile slipped off my face as Sinon grit her teeth in a pained scowl, "I hate this. I hate this feeling. I can't even bear to look at my friends anymore without my chest hurting. How am I supposed to deal with this when I don't have the kind of strength Yuuki did?"

Everything she said brought more questions I didn't know the answer to. What couldn't she move on from? What was so distressing to her that she couldn't be around her own friends without feeling hurt? The two were connected somehow. They had to be. And if her friends were wondering why she wasn't around like Argo said, it pretty much confirmed they didn't know what was going on either.

The internal debate I had before flared up again. I couldn't ignore this. No way in hell. Whatever was going on was eating away at her and I'd be damned to let it happen.

But at the same time, her emotions were tangled up in this. Things get a lot more complicated when emotions are involved. One wrong step and Sinon wouldn't just be annoyed at me, she'd be delirious with rage. Our friendship would be over. Not ' _might'_ or ' _possibly_ '. It would be over.

I was risking a lot of things by this point. My GGO career, my weapons, Argo and Noya, Serena too. Was I willing to risk my relationship with Sinon on top of all that?

I don't know. But I did know my friend needed help right now. I could do that at least.

"You're doing better than you think," I told her. "Sure, you may not be as strong as you want to be, but who is?"

"But I-"

I leaned forward, enunciating every word. "Nothing worth doing is ever easy, Sinon. But you're here, you're still breathing, and you know you want to change. That's enough to get going. You may not have the strength you want right now, but I know you have the drive to get it."

Sinon shot me a hard glare. Little by little it melted away until a tired, worn expression was all that remained. "W-what makes you so sure?" she mumbled, wiping a closed eye with her thumb. I shrugged.

"Nothing. But if you end up proving me wrong, I think we'll both be pretty embarrassed so let's make sure that doesn't happen, alright?"

Sinon coughed. Her mouth twitched like she tried to laugh but couldn't summon the energy. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Did it work?"

"A little," she droned. Heaving a sigh, she propped her elbow on the table and rested her cheek against her open palm, "I'm sorry. I've been doing nothing but complaining to you all day. You must be getting sick of it."

"It's alright. Everyone has their off-days," I allayed her concern with a small wave of my hand. She nodded then took her milkshake glass, raising it up to her lips.

"Thank you. For talking with me. It helped," she said.

I cracked a soft smile at her. She noticed and watched me with curious eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"I was here for you, wasn't I?" I questioned. Sinon tilted her head to the side and gave a tentative nod. "And you felt better afterwards, right?"

Another nod.

I fell back into my seat with my hands open and fingers spread. "I told you. Just being there for your friends is enough. Sometimes that's all you need to get through the hard times."

Sinon froze. Realization dawned on her face. Then an actual, honest to god, smile broke through. Not the small ones. Not the ones she tried to hide behind her muffler. A real, warm smile so wide and natural she looked like a completely different person. My heart thumped like a drum against my chest. My throat tightened with nervous energy.

She looked beautiful.

"You really are something else, you know?" the sweetness in her voice was like music to my ears. Sinon shook her head, that gorgeous smile never leaving as she giggled. "You idiot."

I laughed with her. She wouldn't get any argument from me. Maybe I couldn't fix all her problems, but right here, right at this moment, she was happy.

That was enough.


	10. Headhunters: Chapter 10

**Okay guys, I gotta be honest. This chapter kicked me up and down the street. It was quite the challenge making this one and I wrestled with more than a few second thoughts about how to go about it. But I got it now and I apologize that it took so long. Thank you for your patience and your support after all this time, guys. I mean it.**

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Chapter 10

We walked out of Mugs with the night in full swing and the cool spring air passing us in a steady breeze. Somehow, there were even more crowds than earlier, enough to choke a rhino. Holographic billboards hawked their advertisements and played their jingles. A group of four players had their arms on each other's shoulders as they sang and laughed. The chatter and pounding of footsteps gave the city the spirited roar of a living thing, with the streets pumping like veins, so full of life that it almost made me forget I was in a video game. It never ceased to amaze me. During the day, the crashed starship turned settlement was quiet, but at night the city of Glocken was nothing short of a spectacle.

I turned my body towards crowded streets, but my attention was focused solely on the girl next to me. Sinon's smile was gone, replaced by the blank look she always wore, but every detail was still fresh in my mind. The way her eyes twinkled left a longing sensation deep in my chest.

She turned away from the streets and looked at me."You didn't have to pay, you know? You're already in a bit of a tight spot with credits."

"Eh, call me old fashioned. I was the one who invited you after all," I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. I wasn't exactly swimming in credits, but when it came to cheering up my friends, I allowed myself a blank check. I'd just eat instant ramen in the meantime. A winner's meal.

Sinon hummed then glanced up at the night sky where thousands of tiny beads of light twinkled in brilliant patterns, "It's getting pretty late."

"Sure is. Good thing it's the weekend. You want to call it a night?" I asked.

Sinon glanced at me, then back at the thick crowd in front of us. "Not yet."

She took hold of the sleeve of my jacket and tugged me along a bit further into the alley, right past the top of the small stairway that led down to Mugs. Once we were a good distance away from the streets, she let go and faced me.

"Listen. All of this — the things I told you today? It's been on my chest for a while," She averted her gaze for a moment then said, "I'm grateful for the chance to let it all out."

I smiled back at her, "It's alright. You ever need an ear, well, I got two of them for a reason."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a slight nod, which I returned in kind.

Then before I could say anything else, she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight embrace.

My heart practically leapt up in my throat as I made a half-choked grunt of surprise. She was warm. Like fever warm. And soft to the touch.

Bliss filled every part of me, sent my heart beating faster than it ever had before. Her embrace was pure comfort as my muscles relaxed into complete rapture. Before I knew it, I wrapped an arm around her waist in return, resting my hand against the gentle curve of her back. It felt right. Real. There was something deeply comforting about the touch of another, especially someone you cared about. I basked in the feeling and relished the fact that the girl I had fallen for was in my arms, if only for a while.

Sinon gave me a small squeeze then let go. The hug didn't last long. Maybe a second or two. But with the way her body was pressed against mine, my brain seemed adamant that it lasted for hours. Her warmth still lingered on me. I had to fight to keep my hormones from popping like a vigorously shaken soda can.

"There. Now we can call it a night," she smiled, her tone light and teasing. Damn it, I felt a blush coming on.

"Uh, Y-Yeah, yeah. End it on uh… on a high note, right?" I said with a forced laugh that made me cringe the moment it left my lips. God, I sounded like a dork.

Sinon brushed past me and walked towards the street. I moved to follow her with the biggest smile on my face, but I barely managed two steps before a sharp chime stopped me dead in my tracks. Another message. I opened my menu, flipped over to my inbox with a couple of sharp swipes, and opened the one waiting for me. To my surprise, it was from Serena, and it immediately drained away all the cheer I had.

 _ikuchi back vault hunting reif upperquarter need distract_

Well that's pretty cut up, but I understood the gist of it at least. Ikuchi had come back from another excursion out in the Wastelands, probably empty-handed. Which meant he probably had the keycard on his person right at this moment. She had an opportunity and she needed my help ASAP. The Upper Quarter was a bit of a ways away, maybe a fifteen minute walk. I had to hustle.

"Something wrong?" Sinon was halfway down the alley, her upper body turned just enough to face me. She took a long look at me, then her expression turned serious, "What happened?"

I closed my window and marched towards her, "I think Serena's making a move on Ikuchi but I need to be there to help her."

"Right now? It's rather sudden." she said.

"You're telling me. I got to get going."

"It might be dangerous."

"Probably. No helping that though."

I stepped out into the street. Sinon followed after me before I could even ask her to, naturally falling to my side as we moved. I considered telling her she didn't have to come, but she had stuck out her neck for me more than once by now. Sometimes without being asked to. At this point, I shouldn't have been surprised to see her do it again. It wasn't in her nature to let me go off into the lion's den on my own.

Just one of the many little things I liked about her.

Navigating the throng of people was no easy feat with the sea of people crashing into us like waves, but we managed as we pushed against the flow of bodies heading in the opposite direction.

"I think Ikuchi came back from searching for the vault. He must have the keycard on him if that's the case," I shouldered myself past a bulldozer of a man and opened the holographic window where the message was displayed and slid it over for Sinon to see, "We need to get to the Upper Quarter. You know a place called Reif?"

"Reif Apartments. I've been there before. It's one of the pricier places you can live in." Sinon said, taking the lead. "A handful of elite squadrons have their headquarters there. I wouldn't be surprised if Yokai was one of them."

"I just hope we're not too late," I said.

"And that she manages to do this without Ikuchi catching on."

"He won't find out. This'll work. It has to. Otherwise I'm…" I let the sentence hang in the air. I tried to summon up my confidence, but thousands of different ways this could go wrong played through my head. Worst case scenario was that we'd fail and Serena's cover would be blown. That Yokai would know what we were up to and our plan would be shot before it had a chance to start.

Apprehension slithered down my gut. I didn't realize I was breaking into a fast jog until Sinon seized my wrist as I passed her.

"Easy. You won't accomplish anything by running off blindly," she stressed each word carefully. "You might make things worse than they are."

I clenched my jaw, forcing the creeping anxiety down before it had a chance to burst out. Sinon was right. She was always right. If I ran off half-cocked, I had a very real chance of making things worse and kissing my plans goodbye.

Know what's going on first, then run full-cocked.

I took a deep breath and tried to find my center. "Right, okay. We'll get through this. We'll be fine," I said more to myself than to her. Sinon let go of me then led the rest of the way to the Upper Quarter.

I suppose it was a good thing she stopped me when she did because I didn't have the smallest clue where Reif Apartments was. The Upper Quarter of Glocken was massive, rivaling the city center's Urban District in sheer size, and filled with dozens of stainless steel skyscrapers that looked near-identical to one another. Everything was uniform, orderly, and congruous. The streets were polished and clean enough to eat off of. Street lights were replaced with large silver arches standing overhead, shining LED lights so bright I could almost be convinced it was daytime if I didn't check the starry night sky.

There weren't as many people here as there were in the city proper. The few players I did see were decked out in fancy armor and heavily modified guns. I could tell just from a glance they were high leveled players, veterans who mastered every aspect of the game. They stood tall and confident, a feeling afforded to them after months of thorough experience. I had to admit, if it ever came to a fight, they'd gut me in no time flat.

Some of them watched me as I passed. Their predatory gazes were hard and calculating. They looked at me like I didn't belong. The feeling was mutual.

However, Sinon ignored them. She walked with a self-assured calm, not even bothering to acknowledge them. The few who caught sight of her quickly paid attention to something else or whispered in hushed tones to their companions. I immediately understood why. This place and I were worlds apart, but this was Sinon's realm. Her natural habitat where she stood just as tall and confident as the rest of the people here. She had earned her place here after enduring far more trials that I've had to in GGO.

It was a humbling thought. One that reminded me just how wide the gap was between us.

After a quick detour around a nearly abandoned plaza, we arrived to Reif in short order. Much like the rest of the buildings in the Upper Quarter it reached so high into the sky that my neck hurt just from trying to see the top where the word 'Reif' was displayed in vertical glowing letters. The building had swooping angles and metallic gargoyles hanging off the edges, but perhaps the most eye catching thing of all was the a giant metallic man staring down at us, his arms fused to the building's front, legs melted into the concrete as if it were a pool of water. All the while, his chest was puffed out like he was entitled to all the ooh's and ahh's he might draw from any passersby.

The word of the day is Ostentatious.

Directly beneath the metal figure were a set of double glass doors where warm light spilled out into the streets. I saw several people inside, but they were too far away for me to recognize them. Without a word said between us, Sinon and I walked towards the entrance as I squinted to better make out who was inside.

The lobby was just as ornate as the building's exterior. Marble pillars with intricate inlaid patterns of gold and ruby reached up to the rounded ceiling. Plush leather couches and loveseats were spread along the walls, broken up by exotic potted plants of various shades of green, yellow, and red. A large golden chandelier hung in the center of the room, right above two more leather couches facing each other.

There were six people sitting in them, three in each and conversing amongst themselves. Ikuchi and Serena, Gozu and Mezu, and two more that I recognized from back in Pulsar. A tall, thin man with shoulder length blonde hair and dressed in fatigues, and another man of average height with short brown hair.

"This just gets better and better," I muttered under my breath. I stopped at the glass doors, but crouched down and planted my back against the wall next to it. Sinon did the same, standing right over me as we both peeked through.

"I can see why Serena needs us. If Ikuchi has the keycard on his person right now, she's going to need all of them to be looking the other way," Sinon said. She lightly shook her head, "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," I bit my lip in thought. "But this might our best chance. So we got to put on a good show for Serena to do her thing," I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I looked up at Sinon and said, "If you don't want to do this, I understand."

"No. You're not going in there alone," Sinon looked down at me. "Let's go. There's no way Ikuchi will ignore us."

"Alright then. Lights, camera, action," I grinned and stood up to my full height. The center of attention would be on us the whole way through. That would be easy. I just had to piss them off hard enough. Not to stroke my own ego, but I was a natural at getting people to hate me. It was a gift.

I moved in front of the door, taking a moment to clear my throat. Then I threw the doors open so hard the glass rattled against their hinges.

"Ikuchi!" I shouted with an indignant fervor, my voice laced with anger. "We got unfinished business!"

Almost every single Yokai member whipped their head towards me in pure shock. Serena in particular stared at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates, clearly unprepared for the distraction she requested. Gozu and Mezu snarled at me as they came halfway out of their seats, the latter with his hands balled into fists.

Yet somehow through it all, Ikuchi remained unperturbed. He gently turned his head in my direction and regarded me as if I was nothing more than a fly to him. An annoyance that didn't even warrant a moment's consideration. However, once he noticed Sinon right behind me, his expression changed minutely. He straightened his back, fingers rubbing together in what I could only assume was anticipation.

He held out an open hand to his compatriots in a silent bid to sit down. They did so without complaint. Even Mezu didn't hesitate.

I walked over to them with an arrogant swagger. "Nice trick," I said in a wry tone. "Can you make them roll over?"

A flash of an emotion I couldn't quite make out appeared on Ikuchi's face then vanished just as quickly. "Ever the jokester." he said with mild disdain as he rose from his seat. "I must say I didn't expect to have my evening so rudely interrupted. You consistently find ways to surprise me. It's impressive, really."

"Your approval fills me with shame," I replied.

"Hmm, unfortunate," he said. Ikuchi walked towards us and stopped just a few feet away. "I don't suppose you're here to tell me you've reconsidered my offer?"

Offer, he says. That's what mafiosos and sociopathic CEO's call a threat. Join Yokai or live with being hunted down for the foreseeable future. Which basically meant forever. He was putting pressure on me, trying to make me bend. Or break me outright if I refused.

To hell with that. He wanted me to betray Sinon and I'd sooner blow my own brains out than do that. Yokai was no place for me. They'd sooner set a target the size of Mt. Fuji on an opponent's back rather than do anything remotely honorable. They were low-down, conniving weasels, undeserving of anything resembling respect. There wasn't any benefit to joining them.

They didn't even have dental.

I held my hands out to him, palms up and fingers spread. "Nothing to consider. Besides, after everything I've done to your boys, hostile workplace wouldn't even begin to describe what would happen."

"They won't fault you. Neither would I. In GGO, everyone looks out for their best interests. If anything, you've earned our respect," Ikuchi said.

"Again. Approval. Shame. Don't need it, don't want it," I said.

Ikuchi lips pulled back to show perfectly white teeth then his shark-like eyes drifted over to the girl at my side. "Sinon. How wonderful to see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"The bounty. Drop it now." she said with a flat voice. "I warned you before. If you tried anything, you'd be my next target." She glared at him with razor-sharp intensity, her shoulders tensing as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not only did you not listen to me, you dragged him into this too. So I'm done being patient."

Ikuchi's smile never faltered and he spoke in a soft voice like a parent trying to soothe their tantrum-throwing kid. "Are you going to do something about it?"

Sinon took a step forward. Despite being shorter than Ikuchi, she somehow managed to look down on him with cold contempt. "I am."

The tension in the air was palpable. It grew thick, almost suffocating. I kept my attention trained on Ikuchi but I could see the rest of his goons getting restless. If that wasn't a distraction, I didn't know what was, but for some reason Serena still refused to move.

"Surely you see how futile that is? You may think so highly of yourself ever since your scrap with Death Gun, but even you have your limits," Ikuchi rubbed the fingers of his right hand together and then the middle one slapped against his thumb with an audible snap. In an instant, everyone, even Serena, got up to their feet and came to a stop right behind him.

I stood my ground. So did Sinon. I stared them all down until my eyes met Serena's. She stood behind Ikuchi's back and to his left and although her expression didn't betray a hint of emotion, she gave me the subtlest of nods.

She was in position. We had to keep it up.

"Numbers aren't going to scare us. I've been outnumbered ever since this whole thing started, you know? What's a couple more?" I said.

"You will lose this fight, Ikuchi. There is no way around it," Sinon added.

If Ikuchi was fazed, he didn't show it. He crossed his arms over his chest, a low chuckle rumbling from his throat, "Such confidence. It'd be admirable if it didn't come from ignorance. You're skilled Sinon. There's no doubt about that. But history has proved time and time again that even the most skilled warriors fall to superior firepower. I'm afraid you're out of your depth."

I saw Serena's hand twitch and slowly but surely it reached for Ikuchi, more specifically his coat pocket. Her brow furrowed in intense concentration. I had to give the girl credit, it took guts to pickpocket someone in the middle of a crowd.

"History's also proven that the cocky ones can get taken down a peg," I shrugged. "You'll just be the latest in a long list."

Serena's fingertips dipped into his pocket. Nobody noticed.

"I know you like to think yourself clever, but that delusion will come to an end," Ikuchi asserted.

"I know you like to think yourself clever, but that delusion will come to an end," I repeated. "Dick."

I'm a bastion of maturity.

"You oughta watch your damn mouth, kid," Mezu suddenly growled. He made a move forward, which had the unlucky effect of Serena yanking her hand back before he could catch her in the act.

I cursed under my breath and fixed the burly man with an unamused scowl. "You want to do this again, Mezu? Because I can give you the second act of the Nutcracker if you really want it." I made a show of rearing back my right leg, tapping the tip of my show against the marble floor.

Seething rage bubbled underneath his scowl but before he could act on it Ikuchi threw his arm out in front of him to bring him to a dead stop. "Your problem is with me, not Mezu. Leave him out of this."

"The same way you did for him?" Sinon tilted her head at me.

"If you didn't want your boys getting involved, you shouldn't have brought them into this. Bad leadership me thinks." I said.

This time Ikuchi frowned. "I'd advise you to choose your words carefully. For your sake."

"Why? Afraid your men will see how little power you actually have?"

All of the sudden I felt the atmosphere in the room change. A chill ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, like the entire room had been engulfed in a snap-freeze. For a split second I wondered if the game's temperature control glitched out. Then I noticed the absolute bone-chilling glare coming from Ikuchi. All pretense of civility disappeared as his red eyes darkened.

"Don't you dare say that again. I've given everything for them. They're my family. They'll always be my family. Do you understand?" His voice came out in a deeply unsettling growl that struck me down to my core. I had to fight the base urge to back off, to ignore my fight or flight instincts, and even though I succeeded, I still felt my knees buckle.

Serena made a pained noise and I could see her struggling to keep herself calm. She held her breath for a moment then then took her chance again and slipped her hand into his pocket. I found myself silently hoping she'd hurry it up. Something about Ikuchi's demeanor was off. He had been playing the smarmy villain up until now, but the sudden shift caught me off guard. It didn't fit him. Hell, I had filed him away in a neat little category as a overly ambitious punk with all the proof I needed to identify him as such. But as I met his hardened gaze, the real, sobering truth came to me.

This was Ikuchi. Not the man I had seen before taunting us with an air of condescension. This was him. The sheer conviction in his voice was evidence enough. It was the conviction of a man who would break a damn mountain if he deemed it necessary. The one who'd massacre an entire squad of people with his bare hands if it meant watching out for his own.

There's a word for people like that.

Dangerous.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sinon shift ever so slightly closer to me, hands balled into fists like she was ready to start throwing punches. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Ikuchi turned to her and he made a move like he was going to get violent.

Without thinking, I stepped in between them, putting a hand Sinon's shoulder to gently push her back as I glared back at him. "Don't even think about it. You lay a hand on her and I'll break it."

"How chivalrous of you," Ikuchi said. "I'll tell you what, if the bounty hunters don't get you, I'll personally make you wish they did."

His every word was dripping with venom. I felt something underneath them. An underlying sense of violence the likes of which I'd never seen.

"God, what is your deal, man? You've been going after her all this time and for what? Just to prove to people you're good at this game?" I replied. I looked back at Sinon, who glared at me for only a moment before looking back at Ikuchi. He hadn't move an inch, but his eyes narrowed until they were tiny slits of red.

"Have you ever felt powerless?" His voice was so low and guttural that I nearly thought it came from someone else.

"What's that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Have you. Ever. Felt. Powerless?"

Every word came out as sharp as a knife's edge. I didn't know what he was getting at, but I answered him anyways.

"Yeah, I have." I said to him. "Who hasn't?"

Ikuchi took a step forward and I saw Serena's hand slip out of his pocket. It disappeared behind her back in a flash before I could get a good look and I worried for a moment that she failed or that someone had noticed her somehow.

Then I stopped worrying. In fact, I stopped thinking about Serena period. Because what Ikuchi said next slammed into me with all the force of a hurtling car.

"Do you know what it's like to have two years of your life ripped away by a madman with a god complex?"

I froze. It felt like my brain had been disconnected from the rest of my body. I couldn't think straight. Total shock kept me from making a sound.

I knew what he was talking about. The single most tragic event in recent history. The incident that killed nearly four thousand people and left thousands more permanently scarred. All perpetrated by one man.

Akihiko Kayaba.

Sword Art Online.

Ikuchi was there.

He lived through it.

He said Yokai was his family. He protected them, gave them purpose — a leader to guide them. Which meant…

"You. All of you. You're all SAO survivors." I looked at every one of them.

Ikuchi bowed his head slightly but he never broke eye contact. "We won't be powerless again. I swore it."

My stomach felt like it had been stabbed by an ice cold knife. It was nothing short of a miracle that I managed to maintain my composure as I swallowed, trying to bottle up the typhoon raging inside me. "So that's it, huh?"

"That's it. You want to keep coming at me? Fine. Do it. I'll meet you every step of the way." Ikuchi said. He glanced at the men standing behind him, then back at me with an unrepentant fury in his voice. "I won't be made a victim. If that means you have to take my place, then so be it. I will _ruin_ you."

A dead silence fell between us all. Nobody made a move. I couldn't even bring myself to crack a joke to regain control of the situation. My thoughts were in too much of a swirling mess to do anything.

"Ikuchi, please calm down."

I almost didn't recognize Serena's voice. It was a quiet, fragile thing. She gently clasped the man's arm, worry and, I realized painfully, fear written on her face, like she was afraid of him lashing out at her too.

"I hate seeing you like this, so please. Don't be mad."

Ikuchi didn't look at her the entire time. His fists slackened. Then he cast his gaze off to the side and growled. "Get out. I won't ask you again."

Serena squeezed his arm then regarded us slowly, "Just do what he says. You don't need to be here anymore."

I picked up on her double-meaning, but I couldn't do much more than grunt and say, "Let's go Sinon."

I didn't wait for her response. I needed to get out. To get away from them and regain some control of myself. To avoid facing some hard truths. I pushed the lobby's doors open and just walked, walked, walked. For what felt like hours, I just walked.

My legs moved mechanically, of their own accord. I may have heard my name being said, but it barely registered. I just needed to keep moving. Keep getting away.

A hand suddenly grabbed mine. I almost jerked it away on reflex, but Sinon's grip held firm. She pulled hard to get me to turn around. "Easy, relax. You need to take a breath."

I sighed, closed my eyes and did as she said, focusing on steadying my breathing and letting the tension drain out of me. After a few heartbeats, I looked around and realized I had wandered into a courtyard tucked away in the labyrinthian back streets of Glocken, where buildings towered over us like we were in a deep hole. There wasn't a soul in sight. Even the ambient sounds of the main streets had been dulled to almost nothing. The courtyard itself was practically barren except for a couple of benches and a small plot of grass where a tree grew.

"W-Well," I started, using my free hand to wipe at my face. "That...could have gone better."

Sinon's blank look softened as she led me to one of the benches. Neither of us said anything as we sat down.

"Are you okay?" Sinon finally asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I just…" I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes again. "He's an SAO survivor, Sinon. I liked things better when he was just some overly-ambitious punk. I didn't have to feel bad about screwing him over, but now…"

"Now you know what he went through." Sinon said.

"Yeah, I do," I said, leaning back into the bench. "You know about SAO, right?"

A long minute passed before she said, "Yes. I know some survivors myself."

"I guess you can add Ikuchi to that list." I forced out a short, bitter laugh and shook my head. "There's no way he's telling the truth, right? He's gotta be lying just to win some sympathy points."

Sinon didn't say anything. Yeah, it was probably a pipedream. Either Ikuchi wasn't lying or he did it so well even I couldn't tell, and I've seen some good acting before. I dropped my head into my open hands and focused on my breathing again.

I lost track of time after that. Sitting there on the bench, I tried to make sense of my thoughts and sort out the mess of old feelings welling up inside me. It wasn't a pleasant process. At some point, Sinon shook my shoulder.

"Serena's here." she said.

Serena had walked into the courtyard with her head bowed and her hands clasped together. After spotting us, she moved at a hurried pace, looking over her shoulder a couple of times on the way.

"I'm sorry things got crazy back there. Ikuchi he's...he's getting worse. You think so, right?" She asked.

"Well he didn't cut off my limbs this time so there's that." I tried to lighten things up with a joke, but even I could tell it lacked the spirit it usually had.

I got off the bench when Serena reached into her back pocket and pulled something out. Right there between her fingers was the old, beat up keycard that started this whole mess. It's former white color now stained a dirty yellow. I took it from Serena with a nod of thanks and slipped it into my jacket's breast pocket. But I wasn't quite ready to end things yet. There was still one more thing we had to address and judging from the uncomfortable look on the pink-haired girl's face, she knew it too. "You didn't tell me you were an SAO survivor, Serena."

"I'm not," Serena shrunk down like she was trying to avoid a scolding. "Ikuchi, Mezu, and all those guys at the lobby? They're the founders of Yokai. They're the ones that went into SAO."

"But you're pretty close to Ikuchi himself," I noted. I massaged my throat and told Serena in a gentle tone. "Is there anything else I need to know about him? Anything at all? I don't want another surprise like this."

She scratched her wrist, her lips twisting in a pained frown. "N-No, there isn't."

"You're not being honest with me," I said. I actually didn't know whether to believe her, but she had tried to hide the truth from me before, back when we first met, when she tried to hide the fact that she was a Yokai member. If it happened once, it stood to reason that it could happen again.

"I'm not lying!" Serena exclaimed. I kept my expression neutral, not giving her the slightest hint as to what I was thinking.

"Are you protecting him, is that it? Is there something about him that's making you act like this?"

"Ye— No! No, it's not like that at all."

"Serena, if you won't level with me and tell me exactly what's going on, then I can't help you." I paused a moment then shook my head. "There needs to be mutual trust or this deal won't go anywhere."

Serena winced at that. She drew in a ragged breath and lowered her head until her eyes disappeared behind her bangs. Her slender arms crossed over her chest as she grabbed her shoulders, shuddering like a leaf against a gale of wind. She stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, then mumbled. "I thought talking about real life was taboo."

I raised a brow in confusion. Then it hit me. Hell, it freaking punched me square in the jaw. Serena told me from the start. She said Ikuchi had been obsessing over beating Sinon twenty-four seven. That wasn't an exaggeration. She _knew_ he was doing it all day.

And there's no way she would know that unless she knew him in the real world.

"Serena," I took a moment to choose my words carefully. "What is Ikuchi to you?"

She finally looked at me and a sharp pang stabbed my chest when I saw the beginning of tears. "He's my little brother."

My brain twisted itself into a knot. I didn't think I could be surprised anymore after the bombshell Ikuchi dropped on me but I guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch.

I sank back down onto the bench. Even Sinon was at a loss for words as she blinked a few times then mumbled something I couldn't quite catch under her breath.

I blew a mouthful of air from my lips and ran a hand over my hair. "Does he know?"

"No. I never said anything. He doesn't know who I really am and I wanna keep it like that."

Sinon managed to collect herself again and leaned forward, propping her elbows up on her knees and crossing her arms together. "Because he doesn't act the same way in the real world that he does here, right?"

"He...he used to be a good kid. Like, 'straight A's and never got in trouble' good," Serena said somberly. She sniffled and gave a small laugh that was more pain than joy. "He wanted to be student council president when he got into high school. H-How lame is that?"

"The lamest," I agreed, my voice grave.

"But then that game...that stupid game took him from me for two years and when he came back it was like he was a d-different person," Serena's nearly choked on her words when she finished her sentence. "He...he didn't talk to me or anyone. He never left his room. His grades fell. How was I not supposed to worry about him?"

"There's a school for SAO survivors. Isn't he in it? They have therapists there for people like him," I suggested.

"He is! But it's not working. He wasn't getting any better. He just kept getting worse. Around December he started talking to himself. Sometimes I can hear him at night, through his door. He keeps muttering about how he's going to beat Sinon, how he won't be powerless anymore. That's when I decided to join GGO, t-to keep an eye on him. And maybe like, fix him somehow. But nothing I tried worked," Serena wiped the tears threatening to fall, her lower lip trembling. "I'm going to college after I graduate this year. I don't want to leave him like this. I don't." She drew in a sharp breath, her eyes red from crying. "What happened to him? What happened to my baby brother?"

I put my hands on my hips and looked up at the starry night sky. There was no easy response for her question. SAO changed the very fabric of Japanese society as we knew it, and it had left a terrible scar. Even a year later the ripples of that death game endured, either in those who survived it or those who lost someone precious to it. And if you're really unlucky, you'd fall in both camps.

I wasn't exactly a saint, but I could feel empathy enough to know that despite how much of a headache Ikuchi was, it was impossible not to feel sorry for him. I wouldn't wish that death game on anyone, even him. Nobody deserved to have to fight for their life on a daily basis. Nobody deserved to have their normal lives ripped out from under them without warning. It wasn't right. Wasn't decent.

"You promised me you would help him," Serena took a deep breath. Her voice creaked past the point of breaking. "And you're going to, right?"

I tilted my head down to face her. I didn't hesitate with my answer. "I am. I already gave you my word."

"I want to hear it again," she said, grabbing fistfuls of my jacket as she stared at me with her tears staining her cheeks. "Swear it. Swear it to me."

I took her hands in mine as they shivered against my touch and gently pried them free. Promises are a sacred thing. They contain an entirety of a person's trust in you. All their faith and hope. They weren't something to be taken lightly or casually thrown out. I wouldn't start now.

"Promises are meant to be kept, Serena, and you can be damn sure I'm keeping this one." I told her. "I swear to you that I'll help however I can."

She released a harsh breath and pulled away to take a moment to compose herself. When she finally did, she put a hand against my chest and tried her best to smile. "Thank you. I-If there's anything else I can do then…"

"Yeah, yeah. I have your number. I'll let you know if there's anything else," I said. We gave each other a quiet farewell then she quickly nodded to Sinon before taking her leave.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. There was a lot to take in, a lot of things to mull over. What started out as a simple bounty problem snowballed into something far more serious than I expected and truth be told, I was more than a little nervous. So much more could go wrong now. Someone's mental health was on the line and it fell to me to help them.

"Starting to think I'm in over my head," I said to no one in particular. Sinon came up to my side as she watched Serena go.

"Then why did you agree?" Sinon asked. I glanced at her and shrugged.

"Because it's the right thing to do." I paused then gave her a tired chuckle. "Or I'm just a huge idiot trying to be a hero. It's one of the two."

"You're taking on a lot of responsibility. Don't run yourself ragged, okay?" she said. I didn't miss the genuine concern in her voice and it made me smile.

"Hm. I'll be fine. As long as we stay the course and follow the plan down to the letter, we should be okay." I said. "I'll fix this. I'll make it right, no matter what."

I turned to Sinon. She didn't say anything. Instead she was looking right at me, her bright blue eyes almost glowing in the dark of night. Nowhere else. Just at me. My chest swelled with a deep and pleasant tugging sensation. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

Then all of the sudden an overwhelming urge to yawn hit me and I let it loose without resisting, "Guess we stayed out a bit later than we planned."

Sinon blinked a couple of times then looked away and nodded. "Yes. We should probably get going."

"Right, right. It's rude to keep a lady out past curfew," I grinned. Sinon rolled her eyes.

"Don't get any funny ideas." she said.

"Wouldn't dream of it."


	11. Headhunters: Chapter 11

**This chapter was a hell of an exercise I have to admit. Had to rewrite it a few times to get it just right but I think I did okay. Thank you for your patience y'all. You guys rock.**

* * *

Chapter 11

The pistol kicked in my hand and the sour smell of gunsmoke hit my nostrils. A near instant later a holographic target some twenty yards away flickered green and dropped to the stainless steel floor. I grinned and lowered my Oroshi Nine, giving it a gentle stroke along its top. "That's my girl. You did good. How was that?"

Next to me, Sinon glanced at the terminal in front of her with her arms crossed, looking more or less unimpressed, "Thirty two seconds. Twenty two of twenty five targets hit."

"Hey, better accuracy at least. There may be hope for me surviving this yet," I ejected the magazine and pulled the slide back to eject the bullet before setting the gun down on the counter of the firing range. Sinon had invited me to target practice for no other reason than to kill time while we waited for Argo's report. She had taken me to a small range in the Upper Quarter that saw more dust fill its floor than people. On the bright side, nobody was around to harass me about my bounty so it may as well have been a safe haven.

"Still need a lot of practice to beat my record though," Sinon said with the ghost of a smile. Being the pro she was, her accuracy could rival actual real world sharpshooters and her personal best was enough to prove it. Twenty five out of twenty five targets at ten seconds. Thanks, but no thanks.

"Is that hubris I'm detecting?" I asked as tilted my head in her direction. "Cause I think it is."

"You want to give it a try?" She asked with a wolfish grin, competitiveness creeping into her voice. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders in an exaggerated fashion.

"As much fun as it would be to have you wipe the floor with me, I think I oughta pass. Guy's got to know which battles to pick," I said.

"Hm. Smart of you. Which is a first," she said.

"I know. Ain't it precious?" I nudged her with my elbow. Sinon rolled her eyes and smiled.

I grabbed my pistol and slapped in the second magazine I had sitting on the counter, then gave her a quick nod. "Y'know I gotta admit it's pretty soothing to just sit back and shoot targets for a half hour. I almost forgot what it was like to have a normal time in this game."

"It has been a while since we last did something like this. I almost missed it," Sinon said while pressing buttons on the terminal. A harsh buzz echoed in the range and the first target shaped vaguely like a humanoid popped up thirty yards out. I raised my pistol and drew in a slow exhale before firing, hitting it square in the neck. The moment the target disappeared, two more popped up at varying distances.

"Well we have been spending a lot of time together. Mostly because you're trying to keep me alive, but eh, ignore the details." I popped off two more shots, hitting both targets in the span of a second. "But this is getting exhausting. Dodging bounty hunters, dealing with high level squads, avoiding attention. It's been a while since I've had to deal with anything this serious."

"It's almost over. All we have to do is keep pushing," Sinon said, glancing at me as she gave a slight tilt of her head. "You'll get through this. You're strong enough to."

I fired another round that hit a target at forty yards out then gave her a meaningful look. "I mean, technically I'm leagues below everyone else."

"I'm not talking about levels. You're…" Sinon lowered her chin until her mouth disappeared beneath her muffler. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, waiting for her to say something. But then she changed the subject. "I hope Serena won't get into trouble for helping us like this."

I grimaced. I didn't try to hide it either. Serena hadn't tried to contact me since the night we enlisted her help, which was probably for the best. She might have been avoiding us for her safety or left GGO completely. No doubt by now Ikuchi realized he was suddenly missing the keycard she pilfered off of him and I could imagine the raging shit fit he must have thrown when he did.

Normally, I would have loved giving him a good sucker punch like that. It would have been a sweet victory worth savoring, but not anymore. Not after I found out his deal.

Victory, as it turns out, tastes like ash.

Another buzz broke me out of my train of thought and one of the targets disappeared before I could so much as twitch my finger to shoot it.

 _Focus, idiot._ I chastised myself. The next target popped up and I yanked the trigger back with more force than necessary to hit it right in the head.

"Yeah. If Ikuchi's getting as bad as Serena says he is, who knows what he's going to do when he finds out she turned on him." I said as I focused on shooting one target after another, falling into the trance of action and reaction.

"Are you…" Sinon paused like she was trying to find the right words as I shot the last target. The buzzer went off, but she didn't still say anything. She wrinkled her nose then said, "Are you going to confront him? About SAO?"

I didn't answer her right away. I set the pistol down and braced my hands on the counter, eyes never leaving the empty range in front of me. There was no avoiding it, as much as I wanted to. SAO was the root of Ikuchi's problems, and I had a promise to keep.

"Probably." I said. "I just...don't know what to do, Sinon. I wish I did, but...no."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, I'm not a therapist. Ikuchi, he went through something few people could ever understand. His life was suddenly and irreparably changed. And in the process of fighting whatever demons followed him from that hell, he became someone hungry for power at the expense of you and me." I said. I bowed my head and spoke in a low voice. "I don't know how to deal with that."

"But you promised Serena," Sinon said gently.

"But I promised Serena," I said, "Because if I didn't, nobody would."

Sinon took a slow breath, but said nothing.

"I miss when things were simple," I should have been angry at him. Don't get me wrong, every primal instinct told me Ikuchi didn't deserve sympathy, but damn it, it wasn't that easy. He was hurt and I couldn't blame him for trying to protect himself from whatever trauma he endured, even if he was going about it the wrong way.

People rarely become monsters by choice. They don't wake up one morning and decide they're going to do something terrible for the hell of it. It's a gradual thing. The line they're willing to cross gets a little blurrier every time they convince themselves they're in the right.

But he was still gunning for someone I cared about and that wasn't something I could abide.

But if I did beat him...if I did crush his ambitions, what happens then? Would he move on to someone else?

Or would he fall to a point there was no coming back from?

"My best friend was Death Gun," Sinon said abruptly. I nearly choked on air.

"W-What?" I sputtered as I turned to face her.

"He and his brother." Sinon continued as if she hadn't heard me. "They killed people without any remorse and they tried to kill me too, all because they wanted to be feared. To have power over others."

Sinon spit out those last words like they were old milk. Her hands balled into fists and her posture turned rigid, but her face didn't give an inch of emotion. She turned to face me, lips set in a tight frown. "His name was Shinkawa Kyouji and until that day he had been my closest friend."

I didn't know what to say. I knew the Death Gun incident had affected her deeply, but I never imagined that it was because one of her own friends had been a murderer. Even worse, that she would have been one of his victims. "I'm...sorry to hear that."

Sinon shook her head. "It's fine. I'm not telling you this so you can pity me," she said quietly. "I'm telling you this because Shinkawa was unsatisfied with real world. I didn't realize it until he did what he did, but he really detested his place in life. He wanted power he didn't have and he turned to GGO to get it, but when it failed him, he lashed out and did something terrible. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

It did. It was eerily similar to a certain other power-hungry person we were dealing with. Using another world as an escape wasn't unheard of. People have been doing it since before VRMMO's existed. But what was the connection Sinon was hinting at?

I pushed off the counter and leaned my hip against it, facing her. "Very. So what does Shinkawa have to do with Ikuchi?"

Sinon turned her gaze downrange, but she wasn't actually _looking._ Her eyes were distant like she was recalling some long forgotten memory. "I care about Shinkawa. I can't bring myself to hate him because Death Gun wasn't all that he was. Despite everything, he's still the boy that helped me when things were rough. When no one else was there to help me, he was. So when he was arrested, I wanted to visit him as often as I could. I wanted to help him the same way he helped me."

Sinon bowed her head, a rueful smile touched her lips. "But I can't. He's still considered a risk. They won't let me see him until he isn't. But I'm not worried. You know why?"

I shook my head.

"Because he _is_ getting better. Little by little, but he is. The doctors say it's because he knows I'm here waiting to talk to him. So he's trying his best." Sinon lifted her face and pressed a single finger against my chest. "Maybe that's what you need to do with Ikuchi. Maybe...you can't help him, but you _can_ convince him to help himself."

I turned Sinon's words over in my head and gave it serious thought. I didn't have faith in my ability to convince Ikuchi he needed help. Not because I couldn't, but because Ikuchi truly believed there was nothing wrong to begin with.

But that could change. If he realized the error of his ways, if the truth of how much he was hurting his sister and himself was placed in front of him, then it was possible he would take the steps he needed all on his own.

Ikuchi was prideful to a stubborn degree, and he'd sooner impale me with his sword than hear me lecture him about anything. My odds were pretty low.

But then again, when haven't they?

"Do you really think I can do that?" I asked. Sinon smiled and pulled her finger away.

"I do. You may not be the greatest shot in GGO, and maybe you aren't that powerful either, but...you do have one thing that you're better at than anyone I know," Sinon said with a soft, warm voice that reminded me of a pleasant summer day. "You...you know how to talk."

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "Kind of a weird compliment, don't you think?"

"Stuff it. I'm not good at this sort of thing, okay?" Sinon said with a mild pout that was way too cute. "Look, sometimes you know what to say to people, like when you cheered me up after Yuuki died or when you talked to Serena the other day. You can connect with someone on a personal level. It's...something I admire about you."

I glanced away from her and rubbed my cheek to appear deep in thought, and definitely not because I wanted to hide the furious blush coming on. "Th-that means a lot coming from you."

Sinon blinked like she wasn't expecting the compliment. Her ice-blue gaze shied away from mine and even though her muffler covered her mouth, I could tell she was smiling by the sparkle in her eyes. "Mm. Y-You're a good person. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

"I won't," I ejected the magazine from my pistol and glanced over my shoulder where a dispenser bolted to the wall handed out practice rounds for weapons. "Can you pass me some ammo? I want to get one more try in with these targets"

Sinon stared at me for a moment, then nodded and went to grab more ammo. When she came back, she held it out with an extended arm. I found it odd, but I didn't really pay it any mind until I reached for it and she yanked it out of my reach. I blinked at her, took a step forward, and tried again. She pulled it to her right, appearing to be quite pleased with herself.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"You're going to be fighting a lot of experienced players from here on out," Sinon explained as she passed the magazine from one hand to the other. "If you can't do something as simple as take this from me, how can you expect to kill them when they come after you?"

"I don't think doing this ancient kung-fu exercise is going to help when bullets are flying," I said. I made another grab for the ammo, but Sinon dropped it, kicked it back up with the side of her shoe, then caught it with her other hand. "Okay, now you're just showing off."

Sinon just smiled that perfect smile of hers. I had to admit, she didn't show her teasing side often, but when she did, my chest would flutter and the knowledge that she was happy would bring a tugging warmth with it.

Well, fine then. Game on.

I grinned back at her and formulated my plan. Going straight for the ammo would be too predictable and Sinon would counter it as easily as she breathed, so I had to attack from a different angle. I launched a hand at her right one where she held my prize. Like I suspected, she pulled to the left, away from my initial assault, but I was ready, lashing my other hand out to meet it.

Sinon's eyes widened in brief surprise and for a moment I thought I had her, but then she flicked her wrist down, dodging my swipe by a few centimeters, and threw the magazine to her other hand with two fingers.

"You know, I should report you for cyber-bullying," I remarked.

"It was a decent effort. But not good enough," Sinon said. Her smile turned positively vulpine, the spirit of competition alive and well on her beautiful face. I flexed my fingers and dove in again, trying and failing to get the upper hand on her. After a few more failed attempts, she stepped back out of reach and giggled innocently.

"You're enjoying this," I accused her. She shrugged one shoulder and pounded the closed fist that held the magazine against her open palm.

"It's...cute watching you try." she said. I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not, but my face heated up either way.

She couldn't keep getting away with this. I needed an advantage. A way to turn the tables or distract her at the very least. I watched her carefully, considering strategies on how to do so. Then I realized that her back was almost to the wall and she probably didn't know it. I could use that.

My mouth quirked in a confident grin, one that Sinon matched as she made subtle shifts in her stance. The energy between us seethed and crackled like lightning, heightening our senses for the thrill of victory, of besting our opponent. We stared each other down. Waiting, watching _._ Then like someone had fired a starter pistol, I shot forward.

I moved fast. Sinon saw me coming. She anticipated my swipes. But they never came. Instead I rushed _her._

She caught on too late. She tried to backpedal away but she hit the wall like I hoped, jostling her and making her lose focus for a split second as she registered what was happening. My grin turned almost feral as I seized the opportunity.

I lunged and grabbed the magazine. In that small space of time, Sinon recovered and put her free hand over mine to regain control. I did the same until the both of us had our hands on top of each other.

"It looks like the student has become the master," I said with a triumphant smirk.

"Don't get cocky. You still have to take it from me," Sinon shot back. Her eyes blazed with a never-ending fire, so bright and brilliant that it was hard to look away. Then I realized I didn't want to.

She was pressed against the wall, our bodies only a few inches apart. Her hands were small, delicate, and distractingly warm. It felt nice. Amazing, even. Having her so close sent electricity down my spine and set my nerves alight with glowing desire.

Sinon stared back at me. She didn't look anywhere else. Her gaze softened, but the fire in it burned as bright as ever as her cheeks were dusted with a soft pink. She swallowed and the hands wrapped around mine eased their grip and just held onto me, like she needed to be sure that I was there and that this was really happening.

The energy in the room shifted. The high intensity of a friendly contest morphed into something else. Something new and exciting. And judging from the way Sinon stared at me with glistening eyes, she felt it just as much as I did.

The fluttering in my chest compelled me to admire her more. We had seen each other plenty of times and I've noticed her beauty more than once. But having her this close...she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever met _._ From her silky hair to her flawless skin, she radiated with perfect feminine allure. It wasn't the same kind of pretty as someone like Serena, the kind I could observe and appreciate every so often. Sinon was more than that. She was gorgeous. And the need to confess that to her welled up inside me.

"Hey, Sinon?" I whispered to her. My voice was rougher than I expected. Even Sinon seemed surprised by it.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at me with very clear blue eyes.

My throat tightened. Once more I found myself thanking the AmuSphere for not replicating sweat because clammy hands would really kill the mood right now.

"I-I…" Happiness, anxiety, longing, and pure unabashed attraction ached in my chest. "Th-thank you. For helping me. For being my friend. For...for everything I guess."

She sucked in a short breath and let it go. I felt it, hot against the bare skin of my neck.

"You're welcome." She murmured, looking down at our joined hands. "I'm here for you...you know."

The sweet, mellow tone of her voice sent a fresh wave of tingles down my spine.

"So am I," I replied. "I had fun today...being with you."

Sinon's grip tightened. Thousands of little emotions passed over her, but in the end she bowed her head and nodded. "I did too. We should do it again. Sometime."

A soft chime came from my inbox and I fought hard to keep myself from groaning. Damn it. The world has a cruel sense of timing. I reluctantly unraveled myself from Sinon's grip and swiped the air in front of me to summon my menu. "It's from Argo. She wants us to meet her over at the Wastelands as soon as possible, in the northwest corner of the zone. And to bring our guns with us."

Sinon leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed. She didn't so much as glimpse in my direction as she cleared her throat. "I-It's not far from the spawn point. We can get there pretty quickly. Ready to go?"

Some deep-seated part of me wanted to say no. I wanted to come up with some kind of excuse to hold off meeting Argo, if only so that I could keep talking to Sinon. But that was what sucked about my life. I had an obligation to see through, even if I'd much rather be doing something else. Duty calls as they say. Wish it'd go to voicemail. "Yeah. Let's get going."

We walked out in the traffic-heavy streets of Glocken and made our way to the nearest teleporter plaza. I stayed slightly behind Sinon and to her right, partly to let her lead the way and partly to hide my nervous fidgeting. Now that I was walking about in the clean-ish air of the city, I was starting to cool off and look at things from an objective standpoint.

What happened back at the gun range had been far more intimate than what I was used to. My heart was still racing a mile a minute. I already knew how I felt about her, but the impulses were getting stronger, harder to resist. I should have been concerned. But I wasn't. In fact, I found myself not caring in the slightest. A few months ago I would have been hesitant to even stand close to her lest I risk getting told off. I knew about the kind of popularity she had among GGO's male playerbase. I knew she had been hit on more times than she'd been shot at. I even knew that all those experiences had turned her into a prickly, unapproachable ice queen.

But I went and did what I did anyways. What's more, she didn't push me away.

Why?

The optimistic part of me suggested it was because she was warming up to me. And maybe it was true to an extent. We'd been getting closer lately, fighting the same enemy and protecting each other from harm. It would be weirder if we didn't bond after everything we'd been through.

Or maybe I pushed things a tad far and she was too flustered to tell me to back off. But that didn't seem quite right. Sinon wasn't shy about expressing her displeasure to anyone, least of all me. If I had made her uncomfortable, she would have made it known. In a physical way, most likely.

So...maybe she really didn't mind. Maybe something could happen. I hoped something could happen.

Suddenly and without warning, Sinon stopped. I was too close and too wrapped up in my own thoughts to react in time and bumped into her, knocking her forward a step. She grunted and turned to face me with a raised brow.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something," I said with raised hands. Sinon's gaze drifted away, but she didn't move a muscle otherwise.

"Four o' clock. Don't make it obvious," She said. It was my turn to twitch an eyebrow up, but I did as she said and pretended to rifle for something in my pocket while scanning the area to my right.

A group of four men were sitting on the edges of a fountain. At first, there was nothing special about them and to anyone else, they might have looked like they were chatting amongst themselves. But I'd been hunted for months now, dealt with people constantly stalking my movements, learned to see dangers in shadows even when there weren't any, and one thing I learned during all that time was that it paid to be thorough.

I watched them a moment longer than necessary and saw it. Just like I was shooting glances at them, they were doing the same to me. Small, rapid ones that most wouldn't catch if they weren't actually searching for it. Their hushed whispers seemed a little more sinister knowing that.

The bounty hunters were on my tail again.

"How'd you catch that?" I muttered back to Sinon.

"Sniper's intuition. I learned not to ignore my gut feelings when it comes to watching out for threats," Sinon grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and tugged me along. "Let's get a move one. They can follow us, but they won't know what zone we're going to"

I did as she said and followed in step behind her until we reached the teleporter plaza. It was smaller than most of the ones scattered around Glocken. The biggest I'd seen was about the size of a football field. This one was more like a school gym. Pyramid structures made out of glass sat on either end with bright blue orbs hovering above their tips. Incandescent lights colored varying shades of green and purple slithered beneath the surface of each pyramid like a living thing, thrumming with an unseen energy.

There weren't many folks loitering around today, but that didn't stop me from feeling any less tense. All it took was one person to peek over my shoulder to see where we were going for a heap of trouble to come right on our heels.

The moment I stepped into the plaza, I felt the familiar shiver hit me, signaling I was ready to teleport out of the city. Even Sinon shuddered from the sensation. "Hurry and get us out of here. I'll make sure no one's nearby." she said.

I opened the menu and tapped the button that would take us to the Wastelands. The moment I pressed it, a white light overwhelmed my vision, took away all my sense of weight and direction. It felt like being underwater, at the mercy of riptides or massive waves tossing me every which way. Then the moment passed just as quickly and hot wind blew at my face, sand sunk under my boots, and dreary wind howled in my ears.

Calling it the Wastelands was no small exaggeration. The zone simmered with virtual heat born from explosions that happened hundreds of years ago. Shimmering little waves like sunlight on water rose from the cooked sand. The craggy landscape was littered with debris and parts from long dead spaceships, destroyed research facilities, and abandoned military bases. Heavy, toxic clouds hung in the sky, almost suffocating the blazing sun. With all that, the Wastelands could be considered a desolate, unforgiving, bleak hellscape.

So really, a nice place to take a girl you like.

Sinon appeared beside me a moment later, Hecate already in hand as she surveyed the surrounding area. Spawn campers were a depressingly real thing to worry about in GGO, especially in the Wastelands. Its sister zone, the Remnant Wastelands, was a low-level area for beginner players still learning the basics. Hardly any worthwhile PvP happened there aside from the occasional griefing incident.

However, the Wastelands proper gave no comfort whatsoever. It was an endgame zone filled with powerful monsters, ghouls, and robots ready to separate your head from your neck with extreme prejudice. Anyone that came here had to be loaded with their best weapons and supplies. What's more, the dungeons and raids gave out all kinds of expensive treasure, making the people looting them tempting targets for bandits and various other ne'er-do-wells.

"Clear," Sinon said after her third scan. "The northwest corner isn't far from here, let's get going."

I hummed my acknowledgement and pulled my MP7 from its holster on my right leg, then checked to make sure my Oroshi Nine was still its place on my hip.

Without prompting, Sinon took the lead and headed down the sandy hill we were on. I made sure to watch our backs periodically as we went. An ambush would have been the last thing we needed.

Minutes passed in relative silence as we traversed over rocky hills and stretches of barren sand. I didn't see anything following us, human or otherwise.

Which was exactly the problem, because my gut was yelling at me nonstop.

It was small at first. A weight settled in my belly, then the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. All of the sudden, I heard the sound of the ground shifting behind me and whipped around. Grains of sand were being kicked up a few dozen meters out, far too much for the wind to be the culprit. Sinon must have heard it too because she gripped her sniper rifle a little tighter.

Without saying a word to each other, we picked up the pace and it wasn't until we reached another stretch of sandy hills did I hear more rustling. I was ready this time. I whipped around and tried to raise my gun, a hair twitch away from blowing whoever was following us to pieces. But somebody else already had me beat.

He was of average height and covered head to toe in pure black clothing that seemed to swallow any light it came into contact with. He wore knee and elbow pads along with a tactical vest fitted over his chest with a bevy of pouches and frag grenades secured to it. He had a helmet on, also black, and his face was covered with a balaclava and a pair of red-lensed goggles.

But the biggest concern was the MP5 he had pointed square at my head. His finger was placed gently on the trigger, but judging from his placid posture he didn't seem to be in any hurry to pull it.

"Argo's going to be annoyed if you shoot me." the man's muffled voice said through the fabric of his mask. I tilted my head.

"Uh, pardon?"

He reached up with the hand not holding the grip of his submachine gun and lowered his goggles to his neck. A pair of storm grey eyes with dark circles under them stared back at me. They were all too familiar.

"Wait, Noya? Is that you?" I asked, bewildered. "What the hell's with the get-up?"

Noya lowered his weapon and let it hang on his hip by a nylon strap, "I'm on the clock. You paid for Argo's protection so naturally I'm here to protect you." he leaned to the side and gave Sinon a curt nod by way of greeting. "Unfortunately that doesn't extend to you. I hope you understand."

Sinon had Hecate aimed straight at his center mass, but slowly she lowered the rifle until the barrel was safely pointed at the ground. "I can take care of myself."

"Very good." Noya straightened up and put his goggles back over his eyes. "Were you followed?"

"By a whole parade," I replied. Noya nodded along.

"Any clowns?"

"Yeah, throwing pies at each other."

"Nice." Noya pointed a finger to our left. "Stay right behind me and keep close. I know the quickest route to Argo without having to aggro a bunch of mobs along the way."

We did as he said and traversed through the sandy terrain with him up front and Sinon behind me. We climbed up another sandy hill and pushed through the ruins of a lab. Good grief, the smell was horrible. Like a dead animal lying atop a pile of burning tires. Even worse, things hissed or snarled at us from the shadows, warning us to stay away or risk getting torn to shreds. Every so often, a wandering reptilian monster the size of a motorcycle with a fat body and tiny legs would spot us and growl, but Noya kept moving unperturbed..

"You sure you know what you're doing?" I asked him as we exited the ruins in short order and crossed another plain of sand.

"Positive. I take my work seriously." Noya said to me. "Argo doesn't pay slackers. She expects the best out of the people she employs and I aim to do that. Nothing more, nothing less."

Wow, talk about a guy dedicated to his job. I almost left it at that until everything he said registered in my brain. "Wait, Argo pays you? Like an actual salary?"

"Yeah. She figured it's for the best, considering her position in GGO right now. A little money spent to get the right people on her side is no waste." Noya said. He tilted his head like he was thinking something over. "It's nothing extravagant, but it beats working part time at a beef bowl shop."

"Just knowing she's essentially paying you real money is extravagant enough." I said.

"She...doesn't like to say it, but Argo doesn't have as good of a foothold in this game as she'd like."

"A lot of competition?" I asked.

"That plus she came in late to the game. There was already an established organization of info brokers by the time she came to GGO." he said. "Money's a hell of a motivator here. People make their living playing this game and they're not scared of protecting their keep. It's an entirely different beast than the one Argo's used to conquering."

"But she's going to try anyways, isn't she?" I asked.

"It's in her nature." he said. He came to a stop at the crest of the hill we were on and pointed down. "There's our target."

I looked down at the slope. We were above a wide swath of land that was just as full of vibrant beauty as the rest of the place. At first, I was expecting some bombed out facility or maybe a metal pod lying alone in an ocean of sand, but as I shielded my eyes from the blazing sun and took in what we were looking at, I almost chuckled in disbelief. "You're not serious, are you?"

At the bottom of the massive hill was a town, not abandoned like every other place in the Wastelands. The wooden buildings were still standing, untouched by the ravaged landscape around them. It was fairly small, about a dozen or so of the structures all facing each other with a main road between them. There were people walking about too. Some were on the rooftops armed with rifles, others were conversing amongst themselves like it was any ordinary day. But they weren't NPC's. Their movements were too fluid, too natural. They couldn't be anything other than real players who were armed to the teeth and guarding every inch of the settlement.

"Noya, this is Valley Moor," I told him, too baffled to say anything else.

"You know it then?" he asked. I grunted in agreement, scratching my chin. There wasn't a person in GGO that didn't know it. Valley Moor was one of the game's little wonders, a trading town founded by, run by, and protected by normal everyday players instead of the usual NPC's. Some entrepreneurial people found the buildings unaffected by the ravages of war and took it upon themselves to use it as a way to sell their goods to weary passerbys.

The people took care of Valley Moor like it was a second job, switching off guard duty, welcoming new residents and kicking out the troublemakers, all to maintain their community and live a relatively peaceful life outside of Glocken.

Which just goes to show that even in a game filled with shooting, killing, and looting, there was always going to be that one person that wants to roleplay a shopkeep.

"Argo's over there in the shade," Noya pointed at a pile of rocks a little ways to our left. "Sinon, would mind helping me scope the place out?"

While the two got settled, I walked over where Noya pointed and circled around the rocks. Argo sat in a small opening, her cloak whipping against the dry wind. Several holographic windows floated around her as she slid one in front of her, scanned through its contents, then flicked it aside to make room for the next one. Her hands never stopped moving. One typed out a message on a holographic keyboard, the other flicked through a series of documents, all the while she divided her attention to each one without ever slowing down. A window closed then two more appeared in its place, circling around her with the others then grabbing her attention for a brief moment before being dismissed — then she repeated the process all over again.

It was mesmerizing watching her work. Argo was in her element, absorbing and categorizing every ounce of information with effortless finesse. When someone is intently focused on a task, they reach a certain point where they can perform even the most complicated procedures with barely a thought. Argo exemplified that to its full potential. She moved with all the efficiency and grace of a well-oiled machine, completely enraptured by the world of information quite literally at her fingertips.

As much as I wanted to keep watching, she called me here for a reason, so I leaned against the nearest rock and rapped my knuckles against it.

Argo jumped and blinked several times like I knocked her out of a trance, then turned her head slightly to face me, "Ah, there ya are. Good news, bad news, and worse news. Which do ya want first?"

"Might as well start with something that'll put me in a good mood." I said. Argo rose to her feet and walked out of the shade, pointing at the town below.

"Your vault's in there." she said.

"Yeah, figured that much." I said. "What's the bad news?"

"It's in there." she said. "And we probably ain't gettin' to it without startin' a shootout with the whole town."

"Do they know it's in there?"

"Probably not. Far as I can tell, there hasn't been a word about anyone findin' a secret vault filled with treasure." Argo's finger drifted to an unassuming single story building a bit further away from the others. The paint was peeling off its walls and a window shutter was dangling by one hinge and constantly slamming against its wooden frame. A real fixer upper. "The entrance is in there. In the basement if I hafta venture a guess."

"A guess?" I asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Don't get scared now," Argo tittered. "I had to cash in a few favors owed to me and managed to snag a high level drop that came from a raid nearby. It's a map covered in all sortsa markin's where underground bunkers are supposedly located. See, there aren't a lot of building's still standin' to hold a vault. So that means its most likely underground, and the only underground place big enough to hold a lotta treasure was this one right here. Plus, it's in an area Ikuchi hasn't looked, if Serena's info is any good that is."

"I don't know, Argo." I chewed on my lip and watched the area around the building. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was out in the open with nothing to use as natural cover. If it came down to a shootout, there wouldn't be anywhere for use to run without getting riddled full of holes. "Fighting bounty hunters is one thing, but fighting a whole town?"

"If ya wanna back out now you're more than welcome to," Argo turned slightly to face me. Her eyes were barely visible underneath the shadow casted by her hood. "But ya better be ready to pay the rest of my bill some other way. I ain't a fan of people who flake out on their payments and they ain't fans of me when I catch up to them."

The tone of her voice was dead serious. I tried my best to ignore the sharp gaze lingering on me. I'd dealt with Argo enough times to know she was joking. At least that was the hope.

"Is it empty?" I asked.

"Nah. Guy runs a pawn shop outta there. Pretty clean business from what I could gather," Argo said. Her earlier hard tone disappeared without a trace. "Ya want the worse news now?"

"Might as well, I guess."

"I was talkin' to some of my contacts earlier. The pros know you're online. And some of them are mobilizin'." she said. I cursed under my breath. Pissing off the entirety of Valley Moor would make this difficult enough. Having highly skilled players jump into the fray as well was bordering on suicide. Just one more scoop of misery to add onto the pile.

"Yeah, we had some of them watching us when we left Glocken," I said. Argo hummed and pulled the beak of her hood down slightly.

"This'll get dicey if they catch wind of where ya are before we're gone. We oughta hustle," Argo replied as she went to rejoin and Noya and Sinon. The former was peering through a pair of binoculars at the town's front entrance while the latter aimed her scope over its length.

"So whaddya think?" Argo asked.

"The same as before. Assuming things get loud, we'll have maybe a minute before the entire town is on us. Best plan right now is to do this as quietly as possible for as long as possible," Noya said. He acknowledged me with a small tilt of his chin. "Once we got the goods, we'll run back up this hill and take the same route I took you guys through."

"And if they follow us?" I asked. I didn't have to look under his balaclava to know he was smirking.

"They get ambushed by all those monsters we passed on the way over."

Argo cleared her throat and with a few flicks of her wrist, sent all of us a party invite to accept. Once our earpieces were in place, she cracked her knuckles with a fearsome grin. "Enough chattin', boys. Time to get paid."

Noya got up to his feet and gave her a crisp ' _affirmative_ ' before the two started down the hill. I didn't follow. I turned to Sinon where ehe was still lying in the sand. The ends of her muffler fluttered against the wind, but otherwise she remained motionless. I knelt down and touched her shoulder to grab her attention, "You staying up here?"

She answered with a slow nod and nothing else. "I can give you better cover from this vantage point. If things go bad, I can at least whittle down their numbers."

"Okay. Um, thanks," I said.

Sinon opened her mouth, closed it, then finally turned to face me. "Be careful down there."

"You too." I said. Sinon went back to watching the town, but I didn't move a muscle. There was still something I wanted to say. It had been on my mind ever since we left Glocken. Was now the most appropriate time to bring it up? Probably not. But I had to for my own peace of mind. "Sinon. When this is all over, can we talk? It's...important."

I refrained from saying too much. We were in a party after all, and the last thing I needed was Argo drilling me for personal information right now.

She jerked her head up at me, lips slightly parted. I pointed at my earpiece by way of warning to keep it vague. Sinon made a noise in the back of her throat then spoke a low whisper. "It's...about the gun range...isn't it?"

"Yeah."

She released a slow breath and nodded. "Okay."

I bowed my head, grateful. "Thank you."

Rising to my feet, I slid down the hill and reached the bottom. I looked back up at Sinon when I did. She watched me for a moment, then raised a hand in farewell. I did the same.

And just like that, I joined Argo and Noya in stirring up the hornet's nest.

Once I caught up to the pair, Noya threw me a sideways glance and opened his game menu. After a few taps, a gun belt materialized in his hand. A wooden grip was sticking out of the attached leather holster as he held it out to me. "We're going to be in close quarters. You'll need this."

"Aww, but I didn't get you anything," I took the belt and pulled the gun out of its holster. It was a sawed-off shotgun, its blackened steel polished and parts well-oiled . I cracked it open. Two shells were loaded inside. "Groovy," I said.

I slid the sawed-off back into place and buckled the belt on so that the holster rested against my stomach. Noya digitally transferred a couple dozen shells in my inventory where they materialized into the little leather loops along the belt's length. Despite the sawed-off's bulkiness, it was light and didn't slow me down any when I walked. I imagined Noya gave it to me so that I had ample firepower without sacrificing my mobility.

The first thing that occured to me as we approached Valley Moor was that they had no patience for newcomers.

Well, to be more specific, Valley Moor didn't have patience for newcomers who don't abide by the rules. Since we weren't in a safe zone, there was technically nothing stopping me from pulling my gun out and shooting the first guy I saw. The internet was famous for having jerks that would do so for no other reason than for shits and giggles.

Which was why the first thing we saw as we entered the little settlement was a wooden sign post put up by its inhabitants, written in white paint.

 ** _KEEP YOUR GUNS IN YOUR HOLSTERS_**

 ** _VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT_**

I gulped. If that wasn't encouragement enough, the half a dozen sets of eyes trailing our every move sure were. The guards pacing along the roofs carried their rifles in plain view. More were walking up and down the dirt road carrying shotguns, submachine guns, even an LMG every so often. The more of the town I took in, the more the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand on end. Every step felt like it was weighed down by a brick of lead and I directed my focus on moving one foot after another so I could ignore the nervous pounding of my chest.

"Just keep calm. Everything's going to be fine," I mumbled.

"Uh, chief? We're doin' okay," Argo said over her shoulder.

"I know. That was for me."

We managed to reach the entrance of the store without having every gun pointed at our backs, so I could take a bit of pride in the small victories. Argo grabbed the door handle and cracked it open a tad before addressing Noya and I. "Lemme do the talkin'. You two try not to draw attention to yourselves 'kay?"

She pushed the door all the way and no sooner did I step inside did a warm, friendly laugh roll from somewhere to my left.

"Well now this a surprise! Here I was thinking today was going to be a slow one."

The man behind the counter was looked younger than his gravel voice implied. His dark shoulder-length hair was slicked back and dyed a dark red that could be mistaken for black if it weren't for the rays of sunlight bleeding through the dirty windows. He had a thin, athletic figure and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing lean muscles and the edges of some tattoos he had.

He gave us his best amicable smile, like we were old friends. Argo took the greeting in stride and strolled up to the counter while Noya and I took in the layout of the store for anything that could give us a hint as to the whereabouts of the basement.

The main floor itself was fairly small. From the layout, I had to guess this place used to be a family home with the living room being renovated to accommodate the wooden shelves that held everything from ammo to medical injectors. The room measured about ten meters long and wide and lacked any kind of decorations that would make it seem more friendly. There were only five aisles arranged with their openings pointed towards the counter so the owner could keep an eye on every single one. No doubt to keep someone from stealing any merchandise.

I stayed next to the entrance, leaning my back against the wall with my arms crossed if for no other reason than to look like I wasn't up to no good. Noya started perusing the shelves, picking up items and examining them before putting them back. He went from one aisle to the other, playing the part of the interested customer while simultaneously keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

I pretended to wipe my mouth and whispered into my earpiece. "Sinon, anything suspicious so far?"

"Negative. The town is moving around like normal." came her business-like reply. Good, so we still had our cover.

The store owner laughed at something Argo said and shook his head while scratching the back of it. "Nah, it's nothing like that. The Wastelands have been getting more and more dangerous lately with that new update that came out not too long ago. So I opened up this shop for players eager to offload their treasures before they lose it out there. I also sell the essentials if they need them. Ammo, weapons, medkits, materials and mods. It's worked out pretty well so far. I've even been able to hire a couple guys to watch the store when I'm not online."

"You think he's selling stuff from the vault?" Noya's voice whispered through my earpiece.

I shuddered at the thought. "I hope not. Then again, I'm not even sure what's in the thing. The leading theory is some valuable loot, but even then I'm not entirely sure. I just know that if Ikuchi wants it, it must be important."

"Fair enough. I'm going to-" Noya cut himself off, then continued in a hushed tone. "The back room. The basement might be in there."

Sure enough, there was another door in the far left corner of the room, no doubt shut tight. There weren't many other places for the basement entrance to be. It had to be in there.

Argo seemed to follow my own line of thought and promptly propped her elbow up on the store counter, laying a hand on her cheek.

"So ya wouldn't happen to have any extra inventory, would ya? Say, a backroom with your more valuable stuff?" she asked. The man cocked an eyebrow.

"No, not really. Why would I?"

"Y'know, I had it on good authority that ya had certain things locked away only for your preferred clientele. I only wanna make sure that information is correct. I can make it worth your while," Argo said. The owner stared at her for a moment then heaved a sigh.

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to be disappointed. What's on the show floor is what I got," he said. His dark eyes jumped from her, to Noya, then finally landed on me. "If that's all you guys came for, then I'm sorry. I'm not hiding away any secrets for you to —"

The man narrowed his eyes at me. Oh, boy.

I suddenly felt like the center of the attention. I unconsciously stiffened my posture and dug my fingers into my crossed arms.

"Have we met before?" he asked.

"Can't say so. This is my first time here," I said. He seemed unconvinced. If anything, my excuse seemed to make him more suspicious.

"Nah, I swear I saw your face before somewhere. You a famous player or something?" he asked. I puffed out a short laugh and approached the counter next to Argo. At the very least, the owner would be too distracted by the both of us to notice anything else.

"Famous? No. Not even close," I said.

"You sure? Cause come to think of it, I've heard people asking around Glocken for a guy that sort of looks like you. Showed me a picture and everything when I went there..." The owner took a long look at me and I inwardly prayed that things wouldn't take a turn for the worse.

Apparently, that was too much to ask for.

The man's eyes widened, realization striking within them. His gulped, gaze jumping like a cornered animal. "You're the one with the 15 million credit bounty."

"I think for both our sakes, you should correct that accusation," I kept my expression as leveled as possible, but couldn't stop the tension from forming a hard edge to the words. He eyed Argo and let out a wary laugh.

"So, so what? I just gotta ignore that you're in my shop?" he said. I laid an arm on the counter and leaned forward. At the same time, I reached for the handle of the sawed-off.

"That would be the smart thing to do," I said, boring my eyes into him. My intimidating glares aren't much to write home about, but it was enough to make the man hunch his shoulders.

"Right," he said. "Whatever you say."

He ducked down. Metal scraped against wood.

He was pulling a gun out.

Several things happened at once. I drew my sawed-off shotgun, the owner barked out a panicked curse, Argo backed up as she reached for something in her cloak, and about a dozen rapid thumping noises came from behind us.

It took me a second to realize that Noya's black-clad form had slunk around our blind side and made it behind the counter with unnatural speed. His MP5 was aimed squarely at the man's head.

"Up." He said in a tone that left no room for argument. The owner shakily got up to his feet again. Noya grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar and all but yanked him towards the door that led to the back room. "Open it. Now."

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and checked the front windows. "Sinon, are we still good?"

"Yes. Nobody's come near you yet. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine here. It...turns out I'm a little more popular than I thought," I said while rejoining the others.

Noya had pressed the business end of his submachine gun at the base of the man's neck to entice him to stay cooperative as he worked the doorknob. When it opened with a weary creak and we all filed inside.

We came into a room that was more long than wide with an alcove to our right big enough for a bed and dresser. At the very end of the room was a small flight of stairs that led down to what I assumed to be the basement door. But the most important detail I noticed was the single window halfway across the room to our left, shining a ray of sunlight onto a poker table where three men and a woman sat and stared at us in shock.

And there was us, toting weapons and holding their friend at gunpoint.

Let it never be said the Universe doesn't have a sense of humor.

The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Nobody dared to make a move. The floorboards groaned, the wind rattled windows, laughter came from somewhere outside, and all the while Death itself seemed to wait in eager anticipation for the powder keg to blow.

"Gentlemen. Lady," I said, drawing all eyes on me. I swallowed and raised my hands in surrender, keeping the barrel of my shotgun pointed towards the ceiling. "We don't need to get violent. I'm here to negotiate."

"Shoot these bastards!" the owner shouted. He didn't get much time to speak after that as Noya's MP5 spit a torrent of lead through his neck at point blank range. His lifeless body hit the ground with a hollow whump. That set them off. The players sitting at the poker table scrambled to their feet, hastily pulling guns out of their belts.

"Okay, good talk." I jerked my arm down and my sawed-off roared with smoke and fire. The head of the person closest to me exploded with digital viscera. A hundred pellets tore through him, leaving numerous red holes over his chest, shoulders, and arms. The impact of the shot threw his body back into the poker table, knocking it over and spilling cards and plastic chips all over the floor.

Noya dropped to a knee and fired in short controlled bursts, hitting another player's chest up to his neck before his pistol could clear its holster. His throat gurgled and wheezed, then he hit the ground, unmoving.

The last man managed to get a shot off with his own pistol and clipped my side as he tried to put distance between us. He didn't get far. Noya zeroed in on him and ended his life with a clean shot through the forehead.

I cursed under my breath and aimed at the last one, the girl dressed in what looked like starter clothes, a plain forest green set of fatigues, boots, and nothing else. She was backing into the alcove, hands shielding her face, but I could plainly see the terror she was trying to hide. She moved in tiny steps, as if afraid that any more would compel me to end her right then and there.

"Please," she whimpered, emerald eyes brimming with tears. "I'm not like them. I didn't want to be a part of this. Please let me go and I'll do whatever you want."

I clenched my free hand. Call me whatever you want, but shooting someone who doesn't intend on shooting back just doesn't sit right with me. Especially if that someone is a girl. I hesitated, briefly, then let my shotgun fall to my side. "Get out of here while you still have the chance. Things are about to get a lot more noisy in here."

I stalked past her towards the basement door, breaking open my sawed off to load more shells in when I felt a sharp, burning sensation hit me between the shoulder blades. Another shot of pain hit me hard enough in the hip to send me into a spin.

"You gullible idiot!" The girl cried as she aimed a massive magnum at my head. A deafening boom rattled the entire room. Before I could even register what was happening, the girl's entire body was flung back like a ragdoll, slamming into the alcove's back wall with bone-shattering force. A big crimson hole the size of my fist was punched through her chest. Her glassy eyes stared at me in shock, mouth opening and closing, then she went limp and disappeared in a burst of pixels.

"You're not dead, are ya?" Argo said as she came to my side holding a blocky-looking shotgun damn near half her size.

"Not yet," I groaned. Argo offered me her hand and pulled me up to my feet.

"Fallin' for a girl's charms like that. Wait until Sinon hears about this," she snickered.

"Hears about what?" Sinon asked through our earpiece.

"Nothing!" I said hastily while trying to regain some semblance of dignity. I grabbed a medical syringe from one of my belt pouches and injected it into my arm. "Okay, so that didn't go according to plan, but we're alive at least. Let's head into the basement quick, before the entire town comes down on us."

"Too late," Noya said. He had his MP5 pointed out the door we came in, watching the storefront windows.

"He's right," Sinon said, the faintest bit of tension coloring her voice. "They know you're there."

That's when I heard a man's voice shout from outside.

"Aki! You okay in there? We heard gunshots. What the hell's going on? Aki!"

I crept over to the back door and peeked outside with Noya. A dozen men were standing outside, rifles raised at the ready. Others were taking positions across the street on the rooftops and it didn't take a genius to figure out they'd have more on the way.

"We got another problem," Argo said. She pulled at the basement door with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge. "The door's locked."

I love well-laid plans.


	12. Headhunters: Chapter 12

**I won't lie, this chapter was a hell of an undertaking. I'm not very used to writing ones this long, especially not one after the other, but I hope you guys enjoy regardless. Thank you very much for the support you've all given me too. Y'all never fail to give me that extra push I need.**

* * *

Chapter 12

There are a few certain things you can do during a crisis.

Generally, it's a good idea to stay calm. It won't do you any good to start panicking when your life's on the line. Panicking leads to your fight or flight response kicking in and while its good for a burst of adrenaline to get out of an immediate hairy situation, it's not so good when you're confronted by a larger force looking to play Duck Hunt with your grey matter. So that's what I did, taking slow, deep breaths until my thoughts were centered and my limbs weren't jittery from pre-fight anticipation. I willed the rush of anxiety to subside and managed to focus long enough to take in the situation at hand.

This wasn't SAO, I reminded myself. I was wearing an AmuSphere, not a NerveGear. There was no dying here. There wasn't a mistake I could make that would microwave my brain. Sure, things looked bad now, but we weren't down for the count yet. As long as we were still breathing, we had a chance at turning things around. We just had to be smart and absolutely careful.

I sighed and looked around. The second thing to do in a tense situation is take stock of your surroundings. Use anything and everything to your advantage. The ones that could think on their toes and use their environment to their benefit would win the day. I think Sun Tzu said that once.

The store was still empty and the dirty windows facing out to the street would keep anyone from getting a clear look inside. The bodies of the people we killed had vanished in a shower of pixels, leaving a knocked over table, a mess of poker chips, and playing cards on the floor as the sole evidence anyone had been there. Argo was still pulling at the door that led to the basement, though she had resorted to planting her foot against the concrete wall next to it and using it as leverage to pry it open. I considered making a wise-ass remark about how maybe she should try pushing, but thought better of it.

I peeked outside again. The crowd had grown even larger, bigger than some squads I've seen. I could barely make out their outline through the grime of the storefront windows, but I could see enough to know they had us heavily outgunned and outnumbered. We wouldn't survive a straight fight.

"Maybe if we tell them we're not home, they'll go away," I suggested.

"Aki, if you're still in there, say something before we light the place up." I heard a voice say.

"Okay nevermind. I'm starting to think this was a bad idea," I muttered. I looked over my shoulder at Argo, "How's it coming?"

"Not great. This door ain't movin' for the world." She said as she strained against it one more time then huffed and gave the door a hard kick. "Gotta find a key or somethin' to get it open. We're mince meat otherwise."

The door was one of those solidly built metal ones you see installed in warehouses or factories to stop intruders. Sturdy and capable of taking a lot of abuse. Huh. Now that was peculiar. Why would there be an anti-burglary door keeping us out of the basement of a rundown building? I took a cursory glance around for anything that could open it, but nothing stood out.

"We need to do something quick because they're going to start shooting," Noya said with urgency. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, mind racing with a million half-finished thoughts, then stepped over to the only window in the room. After making sure there was no one was there to blow a hole in my head, I forced it open.

"Noya, get outside. Argo, keep looking for a way to open that door. Sinon, how are things looking out there?" I asked.

"Fifteen hostiles all lined up in front of the store and on the rooftops across the street." She said with undeterred calm. Leave it to her to still keep her cool when things got rough.

"Okay, we can deal with that. Just have to regain the advantage," I said. Noya met me by the window, but I stopped him before he could clamber out of it. "Give me a few grenades. I have an idea."

Noya stared at me through his reflective red goggles, but to his credit he obeyed without missing a beat. He transferred five frag grenades into my inventory, then climbed out the window into the store's sandy backyard.

"Sneak around these buildings and set up somewhere to the hit the mob from the side. Tell me when you're in position but don't shoot until I say so." I said.

"Copy that. Good hunting," Noya said. He dropped into a low crouch and disappeared into the shadows of one of the neighboring buildings.

"Keep me updated on how things are going in here," I told Argo as I holstered my sawed-off. "I'm going to go out and distract our new friends."

I stepped back out into the store and crossed the room to hug the wall next to the entrance then peeked out the window to my left. Some of the people outside were already aiming down the sights of their guns. There were about half a dozen on the rooftop across the street from us already. On top of it all, some of those closest to the shop were carrying automatic shotguns and shifting their weight from one foot to the other, practically begging for a reason to jump into action. If I didn't act soon, they'd get their wish.

A bright glint came from the hills overlooking the mob; the scope of Sinon's rifle, reflecting sunlight. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice she was there.

"Sinon, the second you hear explosions, take out the guys on the rooftops," I said.

"Roger," she replied.

I summoned a grenade into my hands, squeezing it tight. The third thing to do during a crisis is arguably the most important. After all, it's the one that could very well decide whether you live to see another day or not.

Knuckle down and do what you have to.

I cleared my throat, and shouted in a loud, firm voice, "Listen, this has all been a grave mistake!"

That caught a few people outside off guard. One of them, a broad-chested man in basic kevlar and desert camo, stepped forward, running a hand over reddish hair cut close to his scalp.

"I'm afraid I find hard to believe that several gunshots were the result of a grave mistake." he said.

"Look, it was just a poker game that got a little bit out of hand," I peered down at the grenade in my hand and hooked a finger around the pin. "Aki was up several thousands credit and he got a bit too big for his britches. He bet his store that I wouldn't beat him. And...well...one straight flush later, he was ready to tear my head off."

"So he's dead then," the man said in a way that was more a statement then a question.

"Unfortunately, yes. I didn't want it to come to that, but he drew first. You know how GGO works. Kill or be killed. I acted the same way any of you would have."

"Look, we're coming inside and confiscating your weapons. Sounds like this whole thing can be resolved if you just void the bet," the man said. That wasn't good. Noya still wasn't ready. I had to buy more time.

"No! I won it fair and square. It's my store now. I'm turning it into a bakery. I'm going to sell cupcakes and sugar cookies and you can't stop me!" I said. Somebody outside actually shouted 'You _fiend_ ' and I had to work hard to keep myself from laughing. Nice to see some people still have a sense of humor.

The man who addressed me earlier rubbed his chin and sighed. "Sir, it's really in everyone's best interest if you surrender peacefully. I don't want to start a shootout in the middle of town."

Another voice suddenly spoke into my earpiece. Two simple words came through that sent my heart pumping and my nerves alighting with anticipation.

"In position," Noya said.

Showtime.

"I already made bomb bombs for the grand opening and everything!" I shouted.

"Ya mean bon bons?" Argo asked.

"Nope," I yanked the pin free and hurled the grenade through the window. Glass shattered. Shouts of surprise and orders to get away were cut short by a deafening shockwave so fierce that dust fell onto my head and the wooden floorboards rattled underneath my feet. I didn't slow down. I pulled another grenade out of my inventory and pulled the pin as I shouted. "Sinon, Noya! Take them out!"

By the time the next grenade flew, I heard the sharp pop of Sinon's rifle and the raucous clatter from Noya's submachine gun. One after the other, I threw every grenade I had, their explosions pounding against my ears like I had a front row seat to a fireworks show. Once I was out, I risked a look outside.

Chaos and confusion enveloped the streets. The guards who weren't caught in the grenades' blast were scrambling to get to cover, but between the mayhem I wrought and the crossfire coming from Sinon and Noya, the street had become a kill-zone. A man aimed at me and tried to return fire, but several bullets hit his left side, courtesy of Noya, distracting him long enough for his head to fly apart into chunks from a round shot by Sinon.

I brought my MP7 to bear and gunned down a legless man crawling desperately away from the shop, then shifted my aim to fire in short, controlled bursts at a player trying to enter one of the nearby buildings, catching him in the meat of his left thigh. He cried out and collapsed onto the ground. He grabbed his pistol out of his holster, firing at me with wild abandon. Another burst put him down for good.

Bullets hit me in the chest and arm and I jerked back into cover on reflex. My health dropped into the yellow, almost into the red, a startling reminder that I couldn't be reckless. These people were living in an endgame zone after all. I caught them off guard, but by no means did that make them weak.

I peeked out of cover and looked for my shooters. Two people stood on the rooftop of a store at my two o' clock, armed with M16's. One had me pinned down while the other was shooting at another building to my right, presumably where Noya was holed up.

"You know, if you keep shooting at me I'm going to start taking it personally!" I leaned out and returned fire, but only managed to graze the man before I had to pull back. Wood suddenly exploded into splinters as bullets tore through the walls. I dropped to the ground, arms over my head as what sounded like a swarm of angry wasps wreaked havoc above me. Store shelves were ripped apart, merchandise fell to the ground, and sawdust hung in the air thick enough to choke on.

"Argo, you okay?" I shouted. If it weren't for our earpieces I was sure she wouldn't have heard me over the cacophony of gunshots. I eyed the three health bars underneath mine. Argo and Sinon were still at full health. Noya was missing half, but it was slowly climbing up after he no doubt applied a medical syringe.

"I'm still kickin'. Ya sure know how to make friends," she said.

"It's a curse I tell you," I crawled back and sat underneath the broken window. "Sinon, we got two targets up top."

"I see them," she said. A moment later, I heard the telltale crack of her rifle and the man aiming at me had his entire upper torso suddenly explode as his corpse slumped over and fell off the roof. His partner stared wide-eyed at the spot where his friend had been then he looked up behind him.

"Sniper! They got a sniper in the hills!" he shouted. A sniper round tore through his neck and sent his squashed head flying.

"They know I'm here. I have to relocate," Sinon said with a grunt of effort.

"Got it. Do whatever you have to," I said, ejecting my spent magazine and slapping in a new one. "Noya, you holding up okay?"

"I'm fine, but these guys are getting their act together. They're coming down on my position pretty hard." he said.

"Retreat if you have to. We can't afford to lose anyone right now," I got up to my feet and turned to fire out the window again, but the store's front door was thrown open and a man charged inside carrying a pump-action shotgun as black and weathered as his armor.

We saw each other at the same time, and I said, "Sorry, we're closed."

I dove to the side in the split second it took him to bring his shotgun up to pulverize the counter behind me. I hit the ground in a roll, got up to my feet, and pulled my sawed-off out in one continuous motion.

One of its barrels erupted with a pull of the trigger. The shot hit home. A spray of pellets ripped his armor into pieces and sent him crashing into one of the shelves, knocking it over.

I let out a shout of triumph, but it died when he didn't explode into pixels. The player let out a furious yell and fired his shotgun from the prone position he was in. My avatar reacted to the shot before I felt it. The sudden exertion of force knocked me off balance, slamming into my left side like someone had clipped me with a baseball bat and I collapsed to the floor. My MP7 fell out of my grasp and skidded a couple feet away.

I caught the very edge of his shotgun's spray. It was nothing short of a miracle I was still alive, but the fall aggravated my injuries, intensifying the vague stinging sensation, and I grit my teeth trying to shove the feeling to the back of my mind. I don't know if it was survival instinct or if I had fallen into a sort of combat trance by that point, but a nagging feeling at the base of my skull told me I needed to roll away, right at that moment. So I did. Not a second later, the space where I laid a moment ago was eviscerated by another blast from the man's shotgun.

I bumped into the store counter and grabbed the edge to hoist myself up when I heard the _ka-chuk_ of another shell being loaded. There was no time to think — only react. Somehow I managed to hold on to my sawed-off after everything and snapped it up to fire the other barrel

Thunder boomed inside the small shop. I beat him to the punch. The tiny pellets riddled his shotgun to pieces. The arm holding it was reduced to little more than a shredded stump of a limb. In the real world, it would have been nothing but hamburger meat and he'd be dead from the shock and blood loss.

But all he did was roar a challenge and charge me with wild abandon. I was out of shells. There was no way I'd be able to stop him before he reached me and taking my pistol out and firing would take too long. Anything that wasn't an instant counterattack would spell my utter doom.

So I dodged to the side and stuck my foot out as he passed.

He tripped over it and I was a comical whistle away from a bad cartoon skit as he crashed into the store counter. He growled and started turning to face me again, but I was already on him. Literally.

I jumped onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist and locking my ankles together. My arm snaked around his throat and squeezed. His veins pulsed in a panic against my forearm, furiously trying to pump oxygenated blood through his system, even if he didn't technically have any. His one good arm flailed about, trying to pull me off, but I held firm, using my body weight to lean back and apply more pressure to the vital veins and arteries in his neck. He staggered from side to side, his movements growing more sluggish and uncoordinated. Sure, he may have been able to breathe and think just fine, but eventually his avatar would succumb from strangulation.

In a sudden burst of energy the man turned and slammed me into the nearest wall. My head was the first to make contact, slamming into it at full speed. The blow left me in a daze. My vision swam with dots of color and chaotic stars.

 _Not green bunnies though,_ I thought to myself. _That's when I should worry._

The man tried to bash me against the wall again, but I gathered enough of my wits to be ready for it. I pitched forward and let my body absorb most of the blow. It hurt, but not nearly enough to let go. A gurgling shout left his lips and covered my arm with spittle. He tried again, but the impact felt like getting hit by a fluffy pillow. The next two times were even softer.

His legs gave out from under him and he hit the ground face first. I didn't release him for another ten seconds but when I did, I drew my pistol and emptied the entire magazine into his head. It took until the final bullet to put him down for good.

"And stay out," I mumbled to myself as I reloaded. Just as I was about to relax, a nagging feeling pressed against the back of my head. A presence was looming over me and I snapped my gun at the person coming inside.

It was Sinon, Hecate in hand. Despite the never ending gunfire coming from outside, she was completely unscathed.

"Oh hey. Like my new store?" I asked her, lowering my gun and gesturing all around us. "I got it for a steal but the neighbors are just awful."

A torrent of gunfire shredded the walls again and I ducked down my head. Hot lead pelted the store again and when I looked out front window, five more guards were taking positions inside the building across the street.

"You see what I mean?" I slapped in a fresh magazine for my pistol and shot back. One of the men staggered when my bullet hit him in the shoulder, but he recovered quickly and fired back. I sprung up to my feet and jumped over the counter to take cover. I pulled out a medical injector from one of the pouches on my belt and stabbed it into my arm. My health climbed back up, but far too slowly for my liking.

Sinon slid behind one of the shelves and pulled her Glock free, leaning out to shoot back every time there was a break in their fire. "I swear, ever since I met you my life has been getting more and more hectic."

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to piss off an entire town," I replied as I joined her in returning fire. "I just have that effect on people."

"You won't get an argument from me," Sinon said. She fired the last few rounds of her magazine and reloaded as she scanned the ground. "Heads up!" she said as she reached down to grab my MP7 before tossing it to me. I snatched it out of the air, reloaded with practiced ease, and sprayed a hail of bullets at the opposite side of the street. The head of one of guards suddenly jerked back, a bright red dot on his forehead, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Thanks. But you know, you wound me with those terrible words," I managed to grin at her despite all the bullets flying past us. "Besides, I bet you're loving the rush of an all-out gunfight."

Her eyes shined. She may have been a sniper at heart, but there was a certain exhilaration to being in the middle of a warzone, much like skydiving and bungee jumping. All without any real danger to boot. It was an adrenaline junkie's dream.

Sinon quirked a charming little half-smile and delivered a burst of gunfire that took down another player inside the building across from us. "Well it is fun. In its own way."

"You can say that again."

A clamor came from inside the building. One of the guards started shouting and their gunfire suddenly shifted away from us towards whatever was inside with them. A moment later, one of them was thrown _through_ the front door and rolled into a heap onto the sandy road. Noya came stalking out the shadows of the interior and unceremoniously fired two bullets into the man's face.

"Nice one, Noya," I complimented. He flashed me a quick thumbs-up then stalked back into the building, but not before raising his SMG and gunning down another player coming outside without so much as breaking stride.

"How are you holding up?" Sinon asked me.

"Could be worse. Stay here and keep a lookout for me," I said before making my way to the back room. "Argo, please tell me you have good news."

"I got squat," she said while in the process of digging through the dresser inside the alcove. The entire room was a mess. The bed was overturned, its sheets crumpled into a ball in the corner. Various clothing articles and tools used for gun maintenance were thrown in every direction. Hell, there were even a few spots on the ground from where Argo had pried off the floorboards. "It can't be in here. I woulda found it by now. Y'know, it ain't a nice thought to have, but ya think maybe that Aki guy had the key on him?" she asked. The question made me uneasy.

"The way our luck's been turning out, I wouldn't be surprised," I said. As much as I wanted to avoid entertaining that particular train of thought, it was starting to become more and more of a possibility. I pressed my knuckles against my temples, trying to squeeze any modicum of an idea out of my head. It didn't work, but it did hurt.

Sinon suddenly came into the room, holstering her Glock. "What's the hold up?"

"It's that stupid thing," I said, jerking my head in the direction of the offending door. "We're not getting anywhere until we unlock it and we have no idea how we're going to do that."

"That door there?" She asked.

"Yeah, that-"

Sinon summoned her rifle, her _anti-material_ rifle, and fired it with a tremendous explosion that shook me down to my core. The security door bent inwards with a hearty shriek. Sparks flew from the large crater Sinon had put in it. She pulled the bolt back on Hecate and fired again. The door didn't survive a second shot. It was blown clean off its hinges and tumbled down the basement stairs.

"Oh...yeah, that works too," I said.

"You owe me one," Sinon replied.

"You can put it on my tab," I peered down the basement stairs. A row of naked lightbulbs strung together on a wire were secured to the right wall. At the very bottom lay the crumpled remains of the security door. Nothing screamed 'entrance to top secret vault' yet, but I wouldn't know for sure until I scoped it out.

Before I could start down, Argo nudged me aside and started down the stairs, "S'cuse me. I'm gonna go check this place out."

"But I might need you to watch this place while I'm down there. All the expensive artifacts in the world won't mean much if those guards outside retake this store and trap us inside," I said. Argo threw me the same slightly amused look people give when entertaining the babbling words of a child.

"I seem to recall part of our deal bein' I get a first hand look at that vault to see what kinda info I can glean off it. Sorry, but I got a vested interest in this too," she said and continued on her way without waiting for an argument.

I sighed and turned to Sinon for any kind of support. She simply shouldered her sniper rifle and nodded. "Be careful down there. Who knows what you're going to find."

"Yeah, got it. Noya, you doing okay?" I asked into my earpiece.

"Holding them off just fine. Best to just do what the boss says. I can take care of these guys no problem if Sinon can give them two targets to shoot at," he said. Despite enduring the thickest of the fighting, he didn't sound the least bit winded.

"Alright then," I said, then gave Sinon a slight nod. "Time to go plunder a vault."

"I hope it's worth all the trouble we've been through." Sinon said.

"I'll bring you a souvenir. Sound good?"

Sinon rolled her eyes and gave me a playful shove. "Get going, already."

I went after Argo, down in the dimly lit basement. The temperature dropped several degrees once I was inside. A pungent odor wafted through the air and I scrunched my nose to keep from breathing too much of it in. The walls, made of cobblestone, were as dry as the land above, with not even a drop of moisture to be found. Several dusty bookshelves tall enough to almost touch the ceiling were spaced evenly along the perimeter of the room, packed to the gills with old tomes, paperbacks, and even encyclopedias. A long table took up most of the center. Cardboard boxes and plastic bins covered every inch. Some were tipped over with their contents spilled out, mostly consisting of old knick-knacks, dinnerware, and electrical components.

But no sign of a vault.

Argo stood on the other end of the table with her arms crossed, turning in a slow circle. Between the darkened room and the concealment offered by her hood, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. I circled around to meet her, looking for anything out of place. No dice.

"It ain't going to be somewhere obvious," Argo said, as if she could sense what I was thinking. "After all the hoops we had to jump through, the prize ain't gonna be given to us just like that. They'll make us work the whole way through."

I grunted in response and started perusing the nearest bookshelf for anything cliché like a lever disguised as a text book.

Hey, it could happen.

I didn't find anything suspicious. Grimacing, I ran my hands along the wooden surface of the bookshelf in case there were any hidden buttons or switches. When that didn't work, I pulled the entire thing towards me to check behind it, making sure to double check every inch once that didn't prove fruitful.

I repeated the process with two more bookshelves. No results. Worry began to flood my insides. Then I noticed something strange as I approached the bookshelf standing opposite the basement stairs. It was already pulled forward a few inches, not right up against the wall like the others. Curious, I tugged it even further and checked behind it. I didn't see anything at first. Until I looked up.

There, on the wall right below the ceiling, was a glass dome about the size of a baseball sticking out of the cobblestone.

"Argo, help me with this," I said. She quickly came and together we pushed the bookcase aside.

"Well whadyya have here?" A feline grin spread across Argo's face as she examined the dome.

"Hopefully our vault full of secret goodies," I said, reaching up to give it a quick tap.

It beeped loudly noise before I could.

I jerked my hand back, worried that I activated some kind of trap. But to my surprise, a blue cone of light shot out and washed over me, so bright that I had to shield my eyes from the light's intensity. Then it vanished as quickly as it arrived and the glass dome gave a heavy drone. Nothing else happened.

I chewed on my lip. It scanned me for a reason. I just needed to find out what. Then I realized I already had the answer sitting in my inventory.

"Moment of truth," I muttered, opening a holographic window. A few taps later, the keycard, the thing that started this whole mess, appeared in my hand and I held it out in front of me, swallowing the growing lump in my throat. The same beep from before came, the cone of light hit me, and as I waited, holding my breath, silence fell.

The dome beeped again.

Then it chirped.

A section of the wall below it groaned. The cobblestone, the _fake_ cobblestone, I realized, split apart lengthwise, opening the way for a short passage that led to an elevator and I stared slack jawed throughout the whole thing. The keycard worked. Argo's intel was right on the mark. Which meant the vault was real and just a few steps away.

I couldn't help myself. I reared my head back and let out an enthusiastic cackle that would make a mad scientist proud.

"Argo, please, please, please remind me to give you a tip when this all over!" I exclaimed. Argo beamed and it was hard to miss the pride in her voice

"No prob. Gratuities are much appreciated."

"What happened?" Sinon asked through my earpiece.

"We're in. Just give us a few more minutes and we'll be out," I said as I walked into the small passageway. The elevator awaiting us was one of those old fashioned ones, with a scissor gate that looked to be about two centuries past its prime. It whined with an awful creak when I pulled on the handle, but it managed to open without too much difficulty.

The inside was smaller than I thought. Argo and I were forced shoulder to shoulder when we stepped inside. I closed the gate behind us and pressed the only button on the control panel. The elevator shook and rattled, but then the carriage began its descent.

"Think there'll be enemies waitin' for us?" Argo asked as she summoned her shotgun. I took the chance to rummage through the pouches on my belt for another medical syringe to top off my health.

"There might be a security system, but it's not like we broke in. We came in by a perfectly legitimate method so I doubt we're going to get ventilated the moment we step outside," I reasoned. I fished out one of the injectors I had been looking for and injected it into my thigh.

"How sure are ya?" Argo asked.

"Eh, seventy percent?"

"Real comfortin'."

We spent the rest of the ride down ready and waiting for anything that might come at us once we exited the elevator. Eventually, the carriage eased into a slow stop and I pushed the scissor gate aside to step out with another security door a couple steps away. I raised my MP7 and twisted the knob, finding it unlocked. I pushed the barrel of my gun through first with my finger resting gently against the trigger.

Darkness lay on the other side. Not the kind of darkness you see when you turn off the lights in your room. It was the kind that filled forests out in the middle of nowhere or in caves deep under the ground, the one that touched that ancient fear of the unknown.

Argo brought out a flashlight from her inventory and handed it to me. I flinched when I clicked it on, expecting some vile monster to be staring right back at me. Thankfully all I saw was the catwalk we were standing on. It was suspended by wire rope that reached up into a ceiling I couldn't see. I aimed the flashlight straight up, but the darkness swallowed its illumination. Down below was no different.

I couldn't shake the feeling of being very, _very_ small at that moment. The hairs on the back of my neck curled and I released a shuddering breath.

"Hey, I'm gettin' a bad feelin' about this," Argo whispered to me.

"That makes two of us," I said, taking a single hesitant step. The catwalk creaked under my weight, but with how cavernous the chamber was, it was more akin to a banshee's wail. "Stay close to me and keep an eye out. If you see anything even remotely threatening, shout it out."

I kept a hand on the nearby guardrail to stave off the vertigo rolling in my stomach as we walked. The feeling of being watched only seemed to worsen the further we went. Shapes stretched and moved at the corners of my vision. The banging of metal and the scrape of rust echoed around us. I tried to rationalize it, pass it off as ambience created by the devs to psych us out. But the more we walked, the more frequent they became. Like something was eagerly following us, ready to pounce.

That 'something' skittered right underneath us. I snapped my eyes down between the gaps of the grate floor, but didn't see anything.

I resisted the urge to run, if only barely.

After a few tense moments of silence, I caught sight of a small room erected on a landing supported by steel struts protruding out of the wall. The windows were clear enough that I could see the interior was saturated with a dim red light and tiny dots of yellow and green blinked on and off. I sped up my pace just a bit and Argo dutifully followed suit. I threw the door open and swept my MP7 from side to side.

We were alone, or about as close to alone as we could be considering the noises outside were reaching a heightened pitch. I handed the flashlight back to Argo and ran my hand along the inside wall, looking for a light switch to flip on, but there was nothing there except cool metal.

The crimson glow washing over us was enough to let my eyes adjust to our surroundings. To our left were a few windows that would have provided a nice view of the room outside if it weren't a nightmare-inducing abyss at the moment. Banks of consoles were lined up against three of the walls with another in the dead center of the room. Each one had an array of dials, buttons, levers, and thingamajigabobs that I could only guess the purpose of. The small screens on each one were filled with static, crackling and buzzing, creating a low roar that accompanied my own tense breathing.

"Ya see what I see?" Argo pointed at a massive monitor screen, easily taking up the entirety of the far wall. A topographical map of the entire Wastelands was displayed in perfect detail, right down the hills and valleys that made up its barren landscape.

While interesting, it didn't add up. We were expecting vault, not a control room. What was the game here? Was there more going on that I didn't know about? Admittedly, information about everything surrounding the vault had been light. Even it's location hadn't been known until Argo took an educated guess. At this point, I wasn't sure what to expect. But at the very least, I did know there were more mysteries to solve.

Argo and I entered the room and circled around the center console to examine the monitor more closely. Blips of red were scattered across the map but there was a single yellow dot near the top of the Wasteland's border. Each one was connected to a blue electricity symbol in the northwest corner of the map by a silver line.

Valley Moor.

That's when it clicked. All the pieces fell into place. I turned around to take in the sight of the control room again and the words fell from the my mouth, "This...no, it's right. It has to be. It's not a vault."

"What? Whaddya mean it ain't a vault?" Argo asked. I motioned at the monitor, mind working at a furious pace.

"It's not a vault," I repeated. "It was a power plant the whole time. Ikuchi was expecting the wrong thing."

I drew my attention to the console beneath the monitor and started messing with the controls. Most of them didn't do anything but sometimes the console would beep. Other times heavy machinery outside would start whirring with considerable effort before dying. There was a point to it all, I was sure of it. Ikuchi was expecting treasure that no one had ever seen before, and maybe he was right in that regard, but it wasn't going to be delivered in a vault like he suspected. It was like Argo said, the devs were going to make us work before giving us our due reward.

So I started working.

"So the big question is: what is this supplying power to?" I asked myself. The power plant was critical, I knew that much. I glanced up at the map again, studying every blip, then turned a dial to see if anything changed. A single white dot moved from the power plant's position in Valley Moor to a red blip on the southern edge of the Wastelands. Nothing else happened. I grimaced and kept trying, so focused on the task at hand that I didn't notice Argo had joined in until she started pulling levers and pressing buttons alongside me.

We worked diligently, testing different combinations and coming up with theories about what the game wanted us to do. Time seemed to melt away as we were fully engrossed in solving the puzzle before us. Nothing else mattered to us at the moment.

"Sinon, that guy with rocket launcher, did you kill him?" Noya's voice suddenly asked.

"Negative. I saw him skulking around behind one of the buildings, but I thought you took care of him."

Uh oh. Argo and I exchanged worried glances. Someone else might have killed a man. That didn't bode well for any of us. An unclaimed kill meant a third party was at play. Sure, someone may have stumbled into the middle of the firefight and shot the first person they saw. Maybe they were acting in self-defense, too. It was also possible that Valley Moor's guards were regrouping for a counterattack. We had taken them by surprise and no doubt they were in the dark about how many of us there actually were. Their best move would've been to pull back to analyze the situation. Or perhaps they considered the town lost and left altogether. That was the best case scenario.

The worst? Pro players. Here to make sure the people of Valley Moor didn't get their hands on me before they did. Argo must have reached the same conclusion because she redoubled her efforts in tinkering with the console.

"Keep your guard up, guys. We're almost done down here," I said, neglecting to add the 'I hope' at the end.

Another white dot left the power plant on the monitor and hit the lone yellow blip north of the map. Something outside whirred again, but increased in power rather that dying down to a slow rattle. Argo grinned underneath her hood.

"Atta girl. That yellow one needs more juice to get her goin'," she purred, reaching out and turning a knob slowly. At the same time, I flipped a lever and held down a button next to it. Two more dots hit the yellow blip. Then three. Then five. The mechanical noises outside rose up in volume, working together in harmony like an orchestra warming up for its set. Lights flickered on and for a split second the massive room outside was bathed in fluorescent lighting, revealing turbines as big as a semi-truck at the bottom of a room that rivaled the Sistine Chapel in size.

And then I heard a furious, inhuman screech come from outside, the sound so horrific I physically recoiled as it pierced my ears. It was like nails on a chalkboard being put through a megaphone. Metal twisted and snapped. I saw sparks flying through one of the windows and then a heavy thumping reverberated above us.

"Argo," I said through gritted teeth, raising my MP7 towards the only door in the room. I didn't dare tear my eyes away for even an instant.

"Hold on. Just give it a minute."

"A lot can happen in a minute," I said. The thumps increased in frequency and intensity, then a clatter came from outside. I didn't see whatever was on the other side of the door, rather I _felt_ it. An angry, violent presence that brought with it no peace.

Tension settled on my shoulders. I found myself gritting my teeth and made a conscious effort to relax. Whatever was on the other side, I'd deal with it the same way I did with everything else: by kicking and screaming and making a general nuisance of myself.

"I don't suppose whoever's out there is here to sell vacuum cleaners, right?" I barked out a low chuckle at my own joke. The tension melted away slightly and I cracked a slight grin. That's the nice thing about humor. As long as it distracts you from the stresses of daily life for even a moment, it did its job perfectly.

"Ah ha!" Argo exclaimed. The constant din coming from outside rose to a mechanical crescendo. The bright ceiling lights flickered on as I looked back on the monitor. The lone yellow blip on the map turned into a vibrant green. Argo pointed at it with a large grin. "I know that place. It's a cave. The Wastelands fulla them so I conduct business in them from time to time. That's our next stop."

I tried to say something, but a frenzied howl drew my attention back to the door just as it was wrenched off its frame and tossed to the side like it was cardboard. The thing came inside and all at once the tension came rushing back to me.

I could only describe it as a human woman in the loosest sense of the term. It had arms and legs, sure, but they were too long for its body. The white jumpsuit it wore was torn in several places along its belly and a sleeve was missing entirely. Its fingers were the size of butcher knives and honed to a razor sharp point. Tufts of white stringy hair clung to its scalp. Its lower jaw was missing. Even more disturbingly, its chest cavity was completely ripped open, exposing a rib cage made out of some kind of black synthetic material.

The moment it laid its glowing red eyes on us, a lifebar appeared over its head with a skull right next to its name. Ruined Prototype.

"Sorry, I already have a vacuum cleaner," was all I could say before the Prototype wailed with an unrepentant fury and launched itself at me with an unnatural grace and speed. Time slowed down to a crawl, and for some reason, despite the fact that I was only less than a second away from death, I couldn't help but notice the youthful features of its face, twisted with hatred as it was.

Argo tackled me to the ground at the last possible moment and the Prototype's claw buried itself into the console behind us. She rolled off me and rose to materialize her shotgun, but the Prototype was already moving, planting its feet on the console and using it to springboard up onto the ceiling where it started skittering back towards the door. Argo corrected her aim and fired, putting a slug right into its spine. Blue blood sprayed from its back and the thing whipped its head back at her, eyes alight.

Its health bar didn't even move.

I scrambled to my feet and fired my MP7, but I might as well have been throwing rocks for how little it did. The rounds squashed themselves against its skin which only seemed to piss it off more. The Prototype dropped from the ceiling, twisted itself upright, and lunged for me again the moment it hit the ground.

But Argo already had it in her sights. Her shotgun roared and the slug slammed into its face hard enough to send it flying backwards. Despite that, the Prototype's health didn't drop.

Argo frowned as she pumped another shell. "Just a guess, but I don't think this is a fight we're s'pose to win."

I was inclined to agree with her. The mangled monstrosity of an android rolled itself up to its feet in a manner too smooth for any human to accomplish. With a deadly finesse almost bordering on otherworldly, it straightened its posture and jumped with from one surface to another, never staying in one place for long.

Argo and I took our chances. Shooting it would accomplish nothing except wasting ammo and time, neither of which we could afford to lose. We made a break for the door and I almost stumbled when I felt the air behind me get sliced in half. Argo was the first to make it outside and I followed after her as we hit the catwalk and broke into a dead sprint.

"Sinon, Noya, pack your stuff and get ready to move the second we get up there!" A crash came a moment later and when I looked over my shoulder, the Prototype was in hot pursuit, running on all fours and shaking the catwalk with every bound. By the time we were almost halfway across, it had already gained on us, howling with an animalistic madness as it swiped one of its claws at me.

I managed to duck and narrowly avoided getting decapitated, but my relief was short lived. The claw sailed over my head and cut through one of the wire ropes suspending the bridge. It snapped. The catwalk suddenly listed to one side and I lost my balance.

I slammed into the guardrail. Pain flared up my ribs, but I was too keyed up to worry about it and used the momentum to push off and continue my dead sprint along the new awkward angle we were running in. Argo made it to the elevator and forced open the scissor gate with a heave while I was only a few dozen feet away. She whipped around and leveled her shotgun back at me, the bullet line coming from its barrel shook furiously, trying to aim for the Prototype, but I was right in front of it, an unintentional human shield.

There was nothing for it. I had to take a gamble and hope she seized the chance. Once my foot hit the ground, I used it to launch myself forward in a dive, hitting my chin on the grate floor and holding on for dear life lest I roll off into the spinning turbines below. Argo's shotgun went off. Plastic cracked, metal screeched. I twisted my head around to see the Prototype sprawled out on its back, a flurry of blue and white fire escaping its open chest.

It bought me a few seconds of time. I scrambled to my feet and bolted into the elevator. Argo slammed the gate shut behind me and I all but smashed my fist against the button to take us up.

The flames spilling out of the android's ribs were suddenly snuffed out like a candle, and then it rose to its feet again. When its gleaming red eyes saw me already behind the safety of the elevator's gate, it bellowed its ear-splitting cry and then jumped out of sight.

I leaned my back against the elevator's wall and slid down into a sitting position while we ascended. I felt exhausted. Drained. Even if fatigue wasn't simulated by the AmuSphere, I couldn't deny that a good nap sounded wonderful at the moment.

"Phew, well that was an event," Argo said, flicking her head to get her hair out of her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Welcome to my life for the past few months," I grinned up at her. "Appreciate the assist, by the way. You saved my skin."

"Ah, it ain't nothin'. Ya get what ya pay for."

I wiped a hand over my face and pressed my fingertips against my eyelids. "What the hell was that thing? I've never seen anything like it before."

"Ya got me," Argo admitted. That surprised me. If she didn't know, then we truly were heading into uncharted territory.

"If that was the prototype, I'd hate to meet the final product," I said.

Sinon's voice suddenly spoke into my ear. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're on our way back up. Still shooting guys up there?" I asked, taking a glance at her health bar out of concern. About a fourth of it was gone, but she was still well in the green.

"No. That's the problem," she said. She wouldn't admit it, but I could hear the subtle tension in her voice. "All the guards in town are gone, but I'm certain we didn't kill all of them."

"They disappeared," Noya's voice chimed in. "The town's completely deserted. There's something else going on here."

An cold, uneasy feeling gnawed at my guts and I ran a hand over my hair. "Take up defensive positions. We'll be up there soon.

It felt like an eternity passed when the elevator slowed to a stop. Argo and I exited and hurried up the staircase out of the basement into the main store. Sinon was already waiting for us, peering out of the front window with her Glock still in hand.

"It's quiet outside," she said, giving us the briefest of glances. "I don't like it."

"Well we're done here so we don't have any reason to stick around. How are you doing on ammo?" I asked.

"Hecate is dry, but I still have enough magazines for my pistol. I'll be fine," she said. The three of us exited the store. Sinon took point and kept an eye out for unseen threats like it was second nature. But I was tempted to think there was no need. The town was dead in more than one sense of the word. Buildings were riddled with bullet holes. Scorch marks dotted the street where I had thrown the grenades that started the firefight. A couple of guns were scattered around, dropped by their former owners. Through it all a cloud of heavy silence hung over Valley Moor, like it had once again been taken by the bleak, lifeless terrain that surrounded it.

I really hope nobody puts another bounty on me for shooting up a town. That would just ruin my day.

We came to a stop in the middle of the road, forming a loose circle. A second later, Noya came creeping out from the shadow of an old church down the street. He had taken his helmet and balaclava off, his white hair fluttering against the wind.

"Have fun?" I asked him when he came closer.

"Quite a bit," he said, the corner of his lip twitching.

"So where are we going? Argo mentioned something about a cave," Sinon said. I nodded and brought up a holographic map of the Wastelands, laying it down parallel to the ground.

"That cave is here on the northern edge of the zone. We fed it a whole bunch of power from that underground plant we were in. I'm still not exactly sure what it did, but we have reason enough to believe that's our next destination."

"Any idea what's there?" Sinon asked.

"I've been there before, but nothin' stood out at the time. Don't mean there isn't anything hidden inside, though," Argo tapped her chin in thought. "Could be the juice we gave that cave opens up another secret entrance like the one in the basement."

"Only one way to find out," I closed the map and gave the group a confident nod. "We're doing well so far, guys. Let's keep this up."

Argo returned the gesture and turned, walking out of the town. "Let me take the lead on this one. I know the quickest way there," She insisted. Noya shrugged at me and closely followed behind her. Sinon and I took a moment to check our gear when our eyes met briefly. We shared a small smile, then started after them.

Then they were gone.

The shockwave hit me without warning. It threw me off my feet. The world spun end over end. Heat, shrapnel, dirt, sand, all of it overwhelmed my senses. Then it all came to an abrupt stop. My back hit the ground and the overpowering scent of smoke filled my lungs.

"Wh-what the hell...?" I choked out, staring aimlessly at the red colored sky and the blazing sun. I heard a voice, somewhere miles away or on the other side of the earth. The ringing in my ears made it hard to tell.

Days passed until a figure crouched over me. I blinked at it, trying to see past the shadows covering its face. Small hands took hold of my shoulders and shook me hard enough to refocus my vision.

Sinon glared back at me, gritting her teeth in a ferocious scowl. Sand caked her hair and red pixelated cuts covered her body.

"S-Sinon?" I croaked. I used what meager amount of strength I had to prop myself up by my elbows. "Wh-where…"

I looked down the street for Argo and Noya. There was no one there. Just a small crater where they once stood with colored orbs surrounding it. Dropped inventory. _Their_ dropped inventory. I checked the health bars under mine and my stomach dropped.

Argo and Noya were gone. Killed.

"Aww, I missed a few."

A girl's voice drifted into my ear. It didn't belong to Sinon. It came from up high, on one of the building's rooftops. I craned my neck and looked up.

There were three people standing over us. One of them was a man built like a tree, wide and sturdy with a burly chest and heavy arms, wearing a set of forest green clothing. A boonie hat covered in leaves sat atop his square shaped head and he balanced a rifle against his shoulder. I couldn't make out exactly what it was, but I could tell just from its appearance that it wasn't some cheap knockoff. It was a gun made for marksmen, designed to kill from any range with lethal efficiency.

A flash of movement brought my attention to the second person and my jaw almost dropped. It was a girl with long golden hair, but unlike the mountain of a man next to her, she was practically the size of a child, dressed in a flak jacket and an old fashioned army helmet. It would have been a comical sight if it weren't for the very serious rotary grenade launcher she had aimed in my direction. When she saw me staring at her, she smirked and waved like we were old friends.

"Hey, you sure this thing isn't broken? I wanted to blow all of them up!" The last member of the group said. It was another woman. Tall, slender, and wearing a black skintight catsuit that complimented her petite figure. Her raven colored hair was tied in a high ponytail, but left thick locks to frame an attractive face. But by far her most distinguishing features were the geometric tattoos on each cheek that stretched from the corners of her lips to her ears.

She grinned, but there was no warmth to it. Just pure wicked bloodlust. I saw it in her dark eyes, in the way they sparkled. We were nothing more than prey to her. Helpless victims she would slaughter for the sheer thrill.

The big man closed his eyes and spoke in a low tone. "We're supposed to take them alive."

"Yeah, yeah. But I wanted to have some fun with them first," she said. Her voice was one part honey and two parts venom. She hefted a rotary grenade launcher similar to the one Tiny held and aimed it me, smoke drifting lazily from its barrel.

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva to soothe my sore throat and glared up at her. "Let me guess. You're here for me, aren't you?"

"Oh? You think so?"

"It's been that kind of day," I said. Thin lips pulled back to sharp canines as the woman threw her head back and laughed.

"Well no sense in dancing around it, is there? Let's just get right to the good part then," The woman leaned forward, eyes wide as she grinned with sadistic glee. "Name's Pitohui. And you're all mine."


	13. Headhunters: Chapter 13

**I said I was going to stop writing long chapters, but here I go writing another long chapter anyways. Combine that with a couple of rewrites and final exams, and boy did I have to burn some midnight oil getting this done. (I'm staying up a bit later than usual to get this out, but shhh, don't tell anyone.) So, thanks sincerely for bearing with me, you guys. It means the world to me. Now I'm gonna go crash for a bit. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

It took a serious effort to lift my body any higher than a couple inches. Dozens of tiny burns erupted over my avatar when I tried to so much as move in place, a rather unwelcome reminder that I had taken a hell of a beating just from one explosion.

I tried to get my feet under me, but Sinon wordlessly pushed me back down and kept me there. I was about to argue with her, but the serious glare she threw at me all but sucked the air out of whatever words I tried to say.

"If you're here for the keycard, we don't have it. You can ask every other bounty hunter that's crossed us," she said to the three newcomers standing over us.

The woman, Pitohui, regarded her with an amused scoff and turned her grenade launcher's sights on her. Sinon didn't even flinch.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, kiddos, but the keycard or whatever's only...eh, a third of the reason I'm here." she said.

"Do tell," I said as I tried to use my body to hide the hand going for my MP7. I had a snowball's chance in hell of killing all three of them. No denying that. I could shoot the grenade launcher out of Pitohui's hands, buy us a little time to run for cover, but that didn't account for the fact that Tiny was wielding one of her own. Or that Big Man could just as easily gun us down. We were trapped. Every move would get us killed. But damn it, I wasn't going just lie down and die without a fight.

"Word on the street is that not a single bounty hunter has managed to collect on your head. You oughta be some tough stuff to pull that off and I do loooove me the tough types," Pitohui said. A smoky little laugh escaped her thin lips. "Normally I'd just find that interesting and move on with my day, but then on top of that I hear Sinon herself was covering your back. Now how could I resist a chance like that? It was practically calling my name."

"Well, I'm very flattered that you think I'm so worthy of your time, but I actually have some homework that I got to do in the real world so I really gotta get going," I said, fingers sliding over the handle of my knife before going for the grip of my submachine gun. "You can take a raincheck on this fight, right? Say a week from Saturday?"

"Oho, I don't think so. You see, that brings us to reason number three," Pitohui turned her sharp gaze to Sinon and at the drop of a hat, her face took on a pained expression filled with mock hurt accompanied by a low pout in her voice. "Aww, Sinon. I offered you all that money to part with that gorgeous sniper rifle of yours, but you turned me down no matter how many credits I waved in front of you."

I furrowed my brow and an uneasy feeling rotted away the bottom of my stomach. "Sinon, do you know her?"

"Barely," she replied without ever taking her eyes off the woman. "I beat her in the last BoB. It wasn't even a contest; I sniped her before she even knew I was there. After the battle, she wanted me to sell Hecate to her, but I refused every offer she gave me."

"Yes, yes. I may love a fight, but I'm not about to let her run off just so she can find a spot to snipe me again." Pitohui hefted her grenade launcher and I stared down its barrel like it was the maw of a hungry beast. "She wouldn't part with that darling gun, so I guess I'll just take it from her."

Sinon sucked in a breath and I didn't have to wonder what was running through her head. Hecate was precious to her. It made her who she was. It defined her just like how Charon defined me so long ago. To lose it would be like losing a limb and it'd be my fault.

My eyes drifted back to the colored orbs sitting where Argo and Noya had been killed. Their inventory, things they collected and needed, things they worked hard to get. All gone because of me. That would be Sinon in a few seconds. Damn it all. She didn't deserve that. I dragged her into this and now she was going to pay a far heavier price than me if I didn't do something.

"Sinon, I'm going to shoot. You run as fast as you can and get out of here. Meet up with Argo and Noya back at Glocken," I whispered. There was no getting out for me. I had taken too much of a beating and attracted the wrong kind of attention. Two of my friends were dead and the third had taken the brunt of an explosion same as I had. I was at the end of my rope facing down a trio of experienced players, and with odds like those, I'd have better luck stopping a speeding car by kissing it. But at least if Sinon survived, I could take some small comfort in that.

I waited for her to run or for the deafening explosion to engulf me and shatter my avatar in thousands of shining pixels, but instead all I heard was rustling and the unmistakable sound of a menu being opened. I looked up at the girl kneeling over me.

Sinon had Hecate into her hands and held it protectively against her chest, staring her defiance at Pitohui all the while.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed at her. I tried rolling onto my side, but an angry red bullet line coming from Big Man's rifle stopped me before I could.

"I'm not leaving. I refuse to abandon you to run off on my own. It's not happening," Sinon snarled as she rose to her feet.

"Sinon, that's — "

"Shut up. We're leaving together," she said, looking down at me. "You got that? Together." The quiet intensity in her eyes burned so bright and dazzling that I had to force myself to look away before I started gaping like an idiot.

"Well isn't that brave of you? Like some scene out of a movie," Pitohui jeered. Sinon narrowed her eyes at her.

"You can shoot me. Blow the both of us up if you really want," Sinon thrusted her prized sniper rifle out in front of her. "But you do that and Hecate goes too. You'll have wasted your time."

My eyes widened when I realized what she was doing. I used the same trick before. There were benefits to having your items materialized in the world rather than sitting in your inventory. It made switching weapons faster and easier, an absolute must when you're in the middle of a firefight. Whenever a medical syringe or a grenade was needed, it made sense to already have it on your person rather than navigating a menu and being vulnerable the entire time. Of course there were drawbacks to go with it. Anything materialized was in danger of being stolen, misplaced, or outright destroyed. Another facet of risk when weighing your options out in the field.

Whenever I had been confronted by bounty hunters looking to take the keycard from me, back when I didn't have it, I lied to them — told them I had it in my breast pocket and would detonate a grenade to vaporize it along with myself. It often worked. They would back off and give me the precious time I needed to turn the tables.

Sinon was doing that on a much more real scale. She hedged a bet on Pitohui valuing Hecate more than the chance of blowing us to bits. A hell of a gamble. But at the very least, I could tip it in our favor.

"Not to mention that I still have the keycard on me," I tried to rise to my feet again and this time nobody stopped me. "If that goes, Ikuchi's not going to be happy. He'll probably hunt you down just like me. You've seen my bounty. He's got a lot of credits, a lot of influence, and a lot of time. And believe me when I say the man knows how to hold a grudge."

Pitohui hummed a little tune, apparently unruffled. "Well it seems we're at an impasse then." She fell silent then kicked Big Man in the shin without taking her aim off us, "Hey, M. Get down there and take their stuff. Nice and fast, yeah?"

The man named M hesitated behind the iron sights of his rifle, "Pito, this has all the makings of a trap."

"Of course it does! If they try something, just shoot them. You can manage that, right?" she said, and smiled the kind of smile that a Black Widow might have.

"Come on, I wanna get this done already!" Tiny said while bouncing on her heels, acting very much like the child she looked like. "My Augma came in this morning and I _need_ to try that baby out pronto!"

M pursed his lips. He didn't try to argue any further. He stepped off the roof and took his time walking towards us when he landed, keeping his finger on the trigger the whole way over.

"Hecate's pretty heavy. You're going to need to use both hands," Sinon said as he approached. M's lips twitched, dark eyes flickering down to the rifle he carried in his hands.

"Leave it on the ground and back away," he ordered. Sinon glared at him with a tight frown. She took a long breath. Then another one. Through her nose and out her mouth like she was trying to rein in her emotions. Or center her focus.

"Fine," she carefully laid down Hecate in front of her and stepped back by a couple of long paces. When I did the same, M slung his rifle aside and knelt down to take it. That's when I heard Sinon's voice in my ear, so quick and light that I almost didn't catch what she told me.

"Go for the girl."

Sinon, faster than I had ever seen her, pulled the knife from my belt and hurled it straight at M. The blade sank into his right shoulder all the way to the hilt before he could so much as blink and he grunted, face twisting from shock and sudden pain.

Sinon's glock was already moving before I could even register what her plan was. The barrel pointed straight at Pitohui and barked nonstop, sending a hail of gunfire her way while the rail-thin woman laughed in a hysterical, almost ecstasy-ridden tone. The muscles in her legs tensed and Pitohui effortlessly dodged to the side, away from Sinon's line of fire.

Out of all of us, Tiny seemed to be the one most stunned by the sudden violence. She blinked in shock then tried to aim at us, but Sinon's order had already spurred me into action. I drew my MP7 and delivered a volley of short bursts. At the distance we were at, I would be lucky to hit her at all, but I didn't need to. I just had to suppress her long enough to break off from the engagement and run.

Tiny's grenade launcher went off with a hollow _thunk,_ but my constant fire paid off. The shot went wide, sailing over us and landing somewhere to my left. A second later, the shockwave hit my back and I dug my heels in to keep my balance.

"Now this is more my speed. Alright come on, show me a good time, Sinon!" Pitohui threw herself off the building and landed with the grace of a cat. She threw the grenade launcher in her hand back up onto the roof next to Tiny's feet and pulled out the AKM assault rifle strapped to her back.

"Keep yourself alive while I deal with her," Sinon sprinted forward, unloading every last bullet she had to keep Pitohui on the defensive, but the girl was quick and her thin figure made for a difficult target. She dashed from side to side, kicking up sand as she went, firing her own rifle whenever she came to a stop only to move again at a blistering pace. But she wasn't the only one. Sinon dodged, rolled, fired, stopped, ran. It was a dance, a display of raw grace and evasive talent where one move made too soon or too late would bring about its fatal conclusion.

I got into gear and ran around the edge of their lethal exchange, towards the building where Tiny stood. A stray bullet grazed my shoulder blade but I barely registered it and just kept running. The little explosive gremlin saw me coming and turned her grenade launcher on me, but I expected as much. That's why I ran for M.

He was still kneeling on the ground trying to pull the knife embedded all the way into his shoulder. His head snapped up when he heard me coming and he let go of the knife to go for his sidearm. It cleared its holster and M brought it up to put one between my eyes, until I snatched Hecate off the ground and swung it like a club, batting the pistol out of his hand.

The sniper rifle was heavier than I thought. I put too much force behind the swing and stumbled from the momentum, crashing into M and sending us both to the ground in a tangle. I caught sight of Tiny on the way down, watched her hesitate on pulling the trigger lest she blew up her friend too.

M jammed his forearm against my throat and threw me off him with as much strength as his burly physique implied. I hit the ground in a roll and came to a stop a few feet away from him on my stomach. Then M got to his feet, and went for his discarded pistol a few feet away, but was stopped halfway there courtesy of a full-on tackle to the ground by a thin, womanly figure. The newcomer slammed him into the ground with a wailing shriek that ran my blood cold. It didn't belong to Sinon or Pitohui or even Tiny.

The Ruined Prototype drove its claws down and gouged four deep punctures into M's ribs, cutting through his kevlar vest like it was wet paper. He was too stunned, surprised, or dumbstruck to even put up a fight. The eviscerated android let out an undulating cry and jerked its arm from side to side, trying to wrench its own hand free while tearing through even more of M's virtual insides.

"You got to be kidding me," I breathed. It must have heard me too because it snapped its head in my direction with the same unnatural grace I saw before, red eyes flashing between clumps of stringy white hair. Its claws slowly withdrew from M's body as the Prototype stood up to its full height, its body twitching like a dead animal would after a few jolts of electricity.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Tiny cried. The gunfire coming from Pitohui and Sinon came to an abrupt stop. Dead silence overtook hung in the air, thick and oppressive, as the Prototype stalked towards me. I didn't understand. It had M completely at its mercy. It could have killed him without any resistance, yet it ignored him and came after me instead. A harrowing chill ran down my spine once I realized why. It had been following me. It wanted me first.

I took slow steps backwards, naked animal fear biting at the base of my skull, but the Prototype answered each one with a step forward of its own, a low synthetic growl coming from its mangled mouth. Its fingers quivered in anticipation, their sharpened edges still dripping with M's pixelated blood.

Its right arm twitched then suddenly surged forward in an underhanded swipe. I backed up, felt the claws sail just past the tip of my nose, and fell on my ass trying to scramble away. The Prototype prepared another strike to my head until several gunshots rang out and a flurry of sparks burst from its ribs and head.

"Hey, hey. Get your ugly claws away from him. He's my take," Pitohui said, her AKM leveled at its face. "You want him so bad, you're going to have to get through me first."

The Prototype howled in a rage. Its body coiled inwards and it threw itself at the wall of a nearby building before lunging for Pitohui, claws extended to eviscerate her. She dug her heels in and sidestepped the android at the last moment, spinning on her heel in a ballerina's twirl. The android tucked and rolled onto all fours. It jumped, avoiding a retaliatory barrage of bullets, twisting its emaciated body and bringing its claw down on Pitohui's torso, tearing vicious rips across her body.

Pitohui wasn't even staggered, which she pointedly demonstrated by pulling her leg back and kicking the prototype hard across the face, knocking it a few feet away as she backed off a few steps. "You're going to have to do better than that. I've fought little girls tougher than you."

Another hollow _thunk_ reverberated through the air and an ear-splitting explosion rocked the Ruined Prototype's position, kicking up a thick cloud of sand and dust. Tiny howled in joy and my jaw almost hit the ground when I saw her carrying _both_ grenade launchers and handling them like they were plastic toys. I'd seen my fair share of weird GGO players, but this was getting to cartoony levels of ridiculous.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed me by the scruff of the my collar and pulled me up to my feet. When I checked over my shoulder, Sinon turned around so that we were back to back, "You okay?"

"Still in one piece. Don't know for how long though," I said, my eyes going from the dust cloud to M getting to his feet to Tiny still standing on the roof. "It's going to get even worse in a second if we don't find a way out of this mess fast."

M yanked the knife out of his shoulder with a barely audible grunt and brought his rifle around to aim at us, splitting the air with several barks of lead, but I was already moving, grabbing Sinon's arm and pulling the both of us out of his line of fire, taking cover in a nearby alley between two shot up buildings.

"I'll grab Hecate. Don't wait for me, okay?" Sinon said. I nodded, pulling my MP7 free, and once Sinon bolted back out for the rifle, I hurried behind her, then turned in the opposite direction as fast as my legs could carry me. I blitzed past M, firing without a hint of effort in landing my shots, suppressing M's accuracy as he ran into another building for cover, and the sound of gunfire in the distance all but confirmed Sinon and Pitohui had gotten into another scuffle. I pushed all that aside and focused on getting away as fast as possible. There was something I still needed to do.

I ran down the main street of Valley Moor, where we were going before Pitohui showed up, and headed towards the crater where Argo and Noya had been killed, towards the glowing orbs that constituted a portion of their inventory.

Losing inventory on death didn't happen as often as it used to. It used to happen every time you were killed, a heavy price to pay some people thought, and they made their voices heard in forums and internet videos. Others argued against it, saying the punishment fit the hardcore image GGO tried to convey and that players should just leave an item in Glocken if they were so afraid of losing it. People debated, essays were written, insults were thrown left, right, and center, until eventually Zaskar sided with the side wanting to keep their items. An update later, the loss rate of inventory was pushed down dramatically.

The items dropped were random. Anything from a few weapon mods to your most treasured weapon was fair game. I don't know what Argo or Noya lost, but at this point, I needed every tool at my disposal. Besides, they might not be so angry with me if I got their stuff back.

Once I came within arm's reach, the orbs naturally gravitated towards my avatar and disappeared into motes of light once they made contact. I didn't bother checking my inventory to see what they were. I just kept running. But something didn't sit right with me. I couldn't help but feel like I had forgotten something very important.

I looked back at the massive fighting happening in the center of town. Sinon had her rifle slung over her shoulder and was running towards me. The Prototype, unharmed from the explosion it took, was already on the move again, dashing from place to place with the same smooth, inhuman grace it always had, dodging M's and Pitohui's shots and retaliating with swipes of its claws. That left…

Tiny.

She was still on the rooftop, watching us go, but she wasn't aiming her grenade launcher. Rather she watched us run off and gave us an ecstatic wave goodbye. That made me uneasy. We were still in her range and none of her friends would get caught in the blast radius. Why was she playing at?

I watched her tap an earpiece I hadn't noticed earlier. She talked into it, only a few words from what I could tell, then hopped off the rooftop out of sight.

"What are the odds that they're going to call it quits," I asked Sinon once she came within earshot.

"You'd have better luck throwing yourself to the ground and begging them to let you go," she said.

We kept a steady pace while the sounds of battle going on in the remnants of Valley Moor faded away.

I should have been relieved, but with every step we took I felt more and more uneasy. It had been too clean of a getaway. After dealing with one unfortunate event after another, I couldn't help but feel like we got off too easy.

"What was that thing anyways? I've never seen anything like it," Sinon asked.

"Um, well...you remember when I said I'd get you a souvenir from that basement?"

"Yeah?"

I vaguely motioned back to the town. Sinon glanced over her shoulder and scrunched her nose. "That has to be the worst gift anyone's ever given me."

"Not my fault. It followed me home."

I craned my neck around to make sure the coast was clear then opened up my menu without slowing down my run. Upgrade components, a 10x scope meant for a rifle, five thousand credits, a couple of flashbang grenades, a golden locket oddly enough, and a rare LMG that was too high leveled for me to use effectively. "Well at the very least I can throw this stuff at them. Nothing more intimidating than a guy chucking money at your face."

Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, coming from the sand dunes to the right. At first I chalked it up to my imagination or a monster attracted to all the commotion coming from Valley Moor. That idea was shot when I saw a wave of sand being kicked up on top of one of the dunes. And right at the front of it was a little pink blur.

They say that time slows down when you're in danger. Like a trick of the brain. That didn't happen to me because whoever that little pink blur was slammed into me before I could even so much as register it as a threat.

My feet disappeared from under me. A pathetic whuff of air escaped my lips and I hit the ground with enough force to end up rolling head over heels several times before coming to a stop.

I let out a few sputtering coughs and got a good look at my attacker. She had a knee against my chest and a foot in the sand. Her fatigues, her bunny-eared cap, and even her P90 submachine gun were colored the same shade of garishly hot pink, like someone had dumped a bucket of paint on her. She had the same diminutive frame as Tiny and with the combination of her big brown eyes, round face, and rosy cheeks, one would be hard pressed to ever take her seriously. But I did, because I knew exactly who she was. The Pink Devil herself.

"Hi, Llenn," I said. "Didn't think our first meeting would go down like this."

Llenn peered at me through the sights of her P90, her face stuck in a slight grimace. "It's kind of creepy that you know my name."

"And it's kind of rude that you have a gun to my face." I shrugged. "So I guess we're both a little uncomfortable."

Sinon appeared behind her with her glock pointed at the back of her head. Llenn frowned and turned her head just enough to catch sight of the gun aimed at her, then she disappeared. She didn't run or even dash to the side. One second she was there, the next she simply vanished without a trace.

I got up to my feet, still unsteady from the lightning fast tackle she gave me, and turned in a slow circle. Llenn's reputation wasn't an exaggeration. She built her GGO career on being the fastest player around. Full stop. I'd heard the stories passed around Glocken's bars, how she wiped entire squads with nothing but her gun and her absurdly high agility stat. Her victory in the first Squad Jam only served to make her more infamous. When people died without ever putting up a fight, they blamed one of three things. Snipers, explosives, or The Pink Devil.

That's when it hit me. The pieces fell into place and I figured out Pitohui's game.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered. Panic began to eat away at the bottom of my guts.

Sinon stayed at my back, glock raised, breathing faint. "What is it?"

"They were counting on this. We played into Pitohui's hand. She knew I'd try to retreat the first chance I got," I said. Another pink blur sped past me, too fast to aim at, and I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. "Llenn's an insurance policy. If I escaped, she'd run me down without breaking a sweat and keep me occupied long enough for the rest of them to catch up."

My own tactics had come back to bite me. It had to have been common knowledge among the bounty hunters by this point. I ran whenever possible. I'd been doing it ever since this whole mess started and Pitohui turned it against me, created a situation where running would be futile. Harmful, even — if I tried to fight back against her little ace in the hole. I was screwed and as much as I hated to admit it, I had to admire the whole scheme. Very diabolical.

"So what do we do?" Sinon asked.

"We can surrender," I half-joked. Sinon shot me a wry glare and I heaved a weary sighed. "Or do the stupid thing and fight."

"Are you serious?" she asked. Something in her eyes flashed and she grabbed my sleeve, forcefully jerking me aside. Not a second later, the familiar buzz of incoming bullets sailed past my head. Llenn stood about a dozen feet away, P90 leveled. I brought up my MP7 in response, made a paltry attempt at shooting back, but she disappeared before the first bullet left the barrel.

"Hey, I'm very familiar with doing the stupid thing. The trick is to make it work out in the end." I opened my menu and tried to bring out the two flash grenades I looted earlier.

"Not so fast!" Llenn appeared out of nowhere and her P90 sprayed a torrent of lead the second I opened my menu. My chest burned with pinpricks of pain and I haphazardly threw myself to the ground before her shots reached my head. Sinon held her back and I rolled onto my side as I frantically scrolled through my menu to summon the flashbangs. By the time, Llenn disappeared again, I had two black and yellow striped grenades in my hand.

"We can't fight her like this. She's going to whittle us down until we're both dead," Sinon said. I clipped the grenades to my belt and tried to come up with a plan. Llenn was a monster, but she wasn't unbeatable. She relied on her speed to get the job done.

Being as fast as she was meant she had to have dumped a lot of points into her Agility stat to the detriment of everything else. Min-maxing, in other words. She probably had some Dexterity to keep her bullet circle steady, plus some Strength to be able to carry her gun, but there's only so many points to go around.

Vitality. Her health. That had to be a dump stat for her. Take away her speed, land a few good shots, and she'd be out of the game. I just needed to create the opportunity.

But I couldn't be the one to finish her. Llenn was dozens of levels above me at least. Even if I could land a few hits on her, it wouldn't be enough to kill — she'd disappear before I'd get anywhere. My damage output was simply too low to affect her in any meaningful way.

I licked my lips and said, "Sinon, if I can distract her long enough, do you think you can take her down?"

Llenn suddenly zipped in front of me and unloaded her P90. Saying that I gracefully dodged it would be a lie. I scampered backwards like a drunk and took a shot to the shoulder when I hit the ground. Evidently, Sinon had better luck than I did, blasting back with her glock and keeping Llenn at bay long enough to haul me back up to my feet.

"I know I can, but we have to do this quickly. It's only a matter of time before Pitohui catches up with us," she said.

"Alright, time to hustle then," I said with as much determination as I could, more for my sake than hers. With a heavy, slow breath, I holstered my MP7. I wouldn't need it for what I was about to do.

VRMMO's have a certain degree of accuracy in them, almost to a frightening level. When people say they lose themselves in them, they're not talking in hyperbole. After all, it was a world that blurred the line between the virtual and reality. The AmuSphere's ability to replicate real world stimuli wasn't perfect, but it was pretty damn close.

I slowed my breathing until it was as light as air, then I listened, really listened, until the sounds of the Wastelands came at me in a wave of near-perfect sound. Every sigh of the wind, each low growl of a distant creature, even the slight shuffle of sand, none of it escaped my notice. Then I began to filter it out. One by one. Imagine listening to a song. When taken as a whole, you notice the main melody and the feelings it tries to convey. Every instrument plays its role to create something larger than itself. Then shift your focus. Instead of listening to the song, listen to a single instrument. Follow it's cadence until everything else melts away. Chances are you'll discover a rhythm that escaped your notice when you were too busy taking in the whole thing. You notice the details of that one instrument and come to understand its part in the greater picture.

The Wasteland's song was a discordant mess of clashing sounds, but it was a song nonetheless. And so I listened. It took a hell of a lot of concentration to pull off, but after some effort, I picked out the one instrument I'd been looking for: the sound of Llenn's boots hitting the sand.

They were faint, but they never stopped. I zeroed in on them, picked out the tempo they were going, what direction they were heading. That's when I realized she was strafing around my right side, intending to shoot me in the back.

"Sinon, behind us!" I spun around just as she came into view and skidded to a stop, P90 already firing. I was ready for it this time, kicking off the ground and launching into a side roll that quickly got my feet under me again. Sinon dove in the opposite direction, firing her glock all the while.

Llenn didn't let up. She broke into another one of her sprints and gunned it for Sinon, her P90 spitting every bullet without end. I fired my MP7 at her back, trying to suppress her assault, but I would have had better luck shooting the wings off a fly. Llenn's movements were too quick and erratic for me to get a bead on them.

Sinon evaded as fast as she could, her glock barking nonstop. She kept up her usual rapid pace, but something was wrong. Her face was wrought with exertion, in the way she grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Whenever Llenn nicked her in the arm or the side and she would growl in frustration and push harder, commanding herself to be faster, smarter, better. I grit my teeth. She was a sniper. Close encounters weren't her forte, while Llenn was in her natural element. Eventually, she'd be outdone or make a mistake that would cost her.

I had to run interference.

Without waiting for my brain to come up with a reason to second-guess myself, I ran straight towards them, raising the MP7 in my hand until it was aimed at the general area Llenn was dashing around. Once she stopped, I pulled the trigger. I got lucky. She'd been too distracted by Sinon to get out of the way and took a hit in her kidney. If it were anyone else, it would have almost killed them, but Llenn merely snapped her head in my direction and sped off like she hadn't been touched.

"You hanging in there, Sinon?" I asked. There was no levity in the way I spoke. I could tell she wasn't in the mood for it.

"Fine. Don't worry about me," She said. I flickered my eyes to her for half a second then scanned the landscape again. Just like before, I focused my hearing and tried to pick out the pitter-patter of small boots against the cacophony of the Wastelands. It was easier the second time around. Llenn was either getting bolder or more desperate. Better for my morale to think it was the latter.

"On our right!" I shouted, spinning around as the Pink Devil reappeared before us, charging forward with wild abandon. I brought my gun to bear and that's when Llenn jumped, far higher than I would've expected. She flew right over our heads, landed behind our backs, then rushed us again, dropping to the ground in a baseball slide.

I didn't notice the gleam of the knife in her hand until it was too late.

It cut through Sinon's ankle, tearing a bright red line right above her heel and she collapsed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

"Sinon!" I ran to her side but Llenn intercepted me, thrusting the knife towards my gullet. I don't know what came over me, whether it was my own reflexes sharpening to a razor fine point or pure dumb luck, but I grabbed her wrist with both hands, the tip of her knife barely digging into my abdomen, planted my feet into the ground, and twisted my body at the waist. Being small may have worked well with Llenn's speed-build, but it also meant she weighed about as much as a sack of feathers.

I flung her over my shoulder into the air in some amateur judo throw. Llenn cried out in shock and she twisted about, reorienting herself to land on her feet and when she hit the ground, she came at me again, only to come face to face with the flashbang I threw.

The explosion rang in my ears and flashing lights dotted my vision, but it must have been worse for Llenn. She stumbled to one side, wiping at her eyes with her shirt sleeve and saying, "Ow ow ow ow ow!"

A gun went off and two small holes bursted from Llenn's body. Sinon was lying on her side, glock in both hands as she yanked the trigger back and unleashed a volley of fully automatic fire, her teeth bared like a vicious cornered animal.

Llenn never saw it coming. Two more holes exploded on her arm and leg. Her panicked screams intensified. She tried to backup and succeeded in tripping over her own feet. Somehow, she managed to scramble back up and ran at full speed over a sand dune and out of sight.

Sinon kept her gun trained on it for ten, fifteen seconds. Nothing happened. I shut my eyes and listened for another impending attack, but the Wastelands gave me nothing aside from Sinon's labored breathing.

"I think we're good. No sense standing around here. She'll come back once the flashbang's effect wears off and she gets some healing done," I said. "Give me your hand, we're gone."

Sinon holsted her glock and accepted the help, but when I got her to her feet, she winced and almost fell again if it weren't for her grabbing onto the front of my jacket for support.

"Damn. How bad is it?" I asked. She grimaced at her injured foot and gingerly tried to put some weight on it.

"No good. She cut through the tendon. I can't walk like this," she said. I shot a look at the sand dune Llenn disappeared behind to make sure we were alone.

"Here. Put your weight on me," I tugged on her hand until her arm was around my shoulders and wrapped my own around her slender waist. It was awkward at first, and having her entire body against mine didn't help in the slightest, but we managed to keep from falling all over ourselves.

"This better not be some trick to feel me up," Sinon muttered, though it contained none of the venom I would've expected.

"It is. Hands just do it for me, y'know?" I replied, giving hers a gentle squeeze.

Sinon gave a sharp exhale that may have been an attempt at a laugh, then shook her head. "Idiot."

Every few dozen meters we walked, I chanced a look around for any more incoming ambushes, scanning the dunes, hills, and the odd ancient ruins with a wary eye. I didn't let my guard down for an instant. Anything could spell disaster if we weren't careful, yet a small voice in the back of my mind insisted we'd be dead either way. I promptly told it to shut the hell up.

Eventually we reached a steep slope leading to the bottom of a ravine. It took a bit of work to go down while supporting Sinon's weight and I almost lost my footing more than once, but we made it to the bottom without taking a tumble. I sighed in immediate relief when the massive stone walls flanking us blocked out the sun. Several reptilian creatures the size of my foot angrily chittered at us for trespassing in their territory, but they scattered once the big, mean, GGO player came stomping through anyways.

"We should be far enough away from them by now. Assuming Llenn hasn't tracked us down already, we might have a few minutes at least," I guided Sinon to a nearby boulder and sat her down on its semi flat surface and I all but collapsed next to her. "You holding up okay? You got hit a few times back there."

"I should be asking you that," Sinon said, flicking a wrist upwards. I furrowed my brow and looked up at my health bar.

I was in the red. Very into the red. A sliver of health so thin a stern talking to would kill me on the spot. Between the confrontation with Pitohui and the ensuing fight with Llenn, my life bar had all but slipped my mind and I almost paid the price for it. I should've been counting my lucky stars, but instead all I could do was laugh. Not just a mild chuckle either. A full-on one, rising from the depths of my stomach, the kind that split sides and leaves your throat raw.

It took me a while to control myself again. I guess after enduring one crisis after another, the human body will take any excuse to blow off steam and lighten the endorphins rushing through its veins.

"You awfully cheery about all this," Sinon mused. I sat up again and rubbed my chest to ease the cramp it got from all the giggles.

"Sometimes you got to laugh or what's the point?" I said. Sinon flicked a glance and me but offered no other rebuttal than that.

"How many medical syringes do you have?" she suddenly asked. I took a second to rummage through my pouch. It was light, for concerning reasons.

"Uh, two," I said. Sinon poked through her own pockets then drew out a slim plastic tube, one end glowing a vibrant green.

"Take this. I have six and you need it more than I do," She said.

"You don't have to do that. You took a lot of fire back there too, so you need all the syringes you can get."

Sinon, apparently not up for a rousing argument, shoved the syringe at me without much ceremony. "Don't die for your pride. It's not worth it, okay? You need the help right now, not me."

She turned her nose up at me in a display of authority, but the effect wasn't as strong as it used to be. Even if she wouldn't admit it, she looked like hell. The both of us did, soot staining our clothes and a myriad of glowing red cuts adorning every inch of our bodies. Sand caked Sinon's hair, tiny granules falling out with every little movement of her head. It would have been cute if the circumstances were better.

I opened my menu while sticking the syringe into my neck, sighing as the cool sensation spread from the injection point all the way down to my torso. Once it was out, I threw it aside and heard it disintegrate into pixels upon hitting the ground. My health climbed back up but I didn't pay it much mind as I tapped away at my menu, hitting the 'confirm' key and watching Sinon as another holographic window appeared in front of her.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Pistol ammo. You burned a lot just getting us over here so I figured I'd give you all I had. You'd make better use of it than me anyways," I said. Our brief confrontation with Llenn solidified that fact to me. Even my MP7 did a pitiful amount of damage compared to Sinon's glock. My pistol was reliable, and fairly accurate compared to the rest of the guns I had on me at the moment, but it was also the weakest, and there was no sense holding onto ammunition better suited for someone else.

"Are you sure? What if you need this later?" she said.

"I won't."

"But — "

"C'mon, Sinon. You gave me health even though I insisted you didn't. It's only fair I give you ammo in return," I unholstered my Oroshi Nine, ejected the magazine, and held it out to her. "Fifty-fifty, remember? You have my back and I have yours. That's the way it's always been."

Sinon looked unsure, hair rippling against a warm breeze passing through the ravine. I thought she would need more convincing until she placed her hand over mine. "You might be making a mistake, you know?"

I shrugged, giving her an easy smile, "Can't be afraid of doing something because you might make a mistake. Besides, I trust you. You'll put it to good use, I know it."

She opened her mouth then closed it when she turned her gaze aside. "And if I make a mistake anyways?"

"I wouldn't hold it against you if that's what you're worried about," I said.

"It's not that exactly, but…" Sinon pinched the fabric of her muffler with her free hand. "I try to avoid making them when I can."

"Fair enough, I guess. But take the ammo, please. I insist," I said. Sinon hesitated for a couple of seconds, then hit the accept button on the holographic window before taking the offered magazine in my hand and replacing the one in her glock with it.

"Thank you," she said, throwing me a small smile.

"You're welcome," I said, looking down at the battered state of my avatar. "So do you have a game plan?"

"Things...look bad now, but we can still salvage this," she said, propping her elbows up on her knees to wipe at her face. "The cave Argo mentioned isn't far. A few minutes walk at most. We can get there in time before Pitohui catches up."

"Yeah okay, but what do we do about that?" I said, motioning at her wounded ankle. Sinon frowned and shook her head.

"Nothing. A specialized wound like this, it'll take several minutes for the damage to reset and we don't have that kind of time," she said. Sinon tried to put weight on the foot, but winced, discomfort flashing across her face as she fell back onto the boulder with a frustrated sigh. "Forget it. I'm no good to you like this. I'll just slow you down."

"I'm not leaving you here, Sinon. Even if I have to drag you with me," I said.

"We'll both die if I go with you. At the very least, I can distract them long enough for you to get whatever's in that cave and get out."

"And then if you die, Pitohui might take Hecate from you. Not happening. I'll find a way to make this work," I said as I got up from the boulder. "Like you said, we've made it this far together and we'll finish it together, right partner?"

Sinon huffed and crossed her arms into a tight knot. "God, you're being stubborn. How many times are you going to have to get shot before you realize tha— wait, hold on, what are you—?!"

It took a bit of maneuvering, but I knelt down in front of Sinon, my back turned to her, and took hold of her legs, hoisting her off her seat and carrying her piggyback style. She gave a uncharacteristically high pitched yelp and threw her arms around my neck to keep from falling backwards.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" she hissed at me. I shrugged and headed down the length of the ravine in a light jog.

"I said I'd find a way to make it work, didn't I?"

"And this was your solution?"

"It's a pretty good one, isn't it? And besides, you still have full control of your hands like this. If something comes after us, just shoot 'em," I said.

"I'm not going to be able to hit anything with your erratic running," she protested.

"It doesn't matter if you miss. Just call them warning shots," I said.

"You're unbelievable sometimes," she murmured, but she didn't offer any more resistance than that. I nodded by way of reply and kept moving. The bottom of the ravine was mostly flat terrain, with the odd bump here or there accompanied by a scattering of large stones or rocks that I navigated easily enough. After jumping off a particularly large boulder, I stopped to readjust my hold on Sinon, trying my best to remain respectful of the fact that I had a handful of her thighs. A lot of guys would kill to be in my position, which didn't really matter to me because a lot of guys wanted to kill me already.

"You holding up okay?" I asked once we started ascending a small hill that led out of the ravine. Sinon huffed into my ear, and a lock of hair brushed my neck as she presumably shook her head.

"If this had been anyone else I would have killed them," she said.

"Glad to see you're keeping a sunny disposition about it," I teased her. I could practically hear her roll her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm starting to take back what I said."

"So am I." My balance wavered and I had to let go of one of Sinon's legs to steady myself against a stone wall before taking hold of it again. "Just endure it for a bit longer, okay? Once we have our prize in hand, we'll ride off in the sunset. Well, you will. Not so much for me."

"I see," Sinon muttered. "I just hope things don't get any worse."

"Well now that you said that…"

Sinon gave me a light punch on the shoulder, to which I laughed in response. Bad situations aside, our little moments of banter were always something I'd treasure. It felt natural. Good, even. And judging from the smile I could see out of the corner of my eye, Sinon felt the same way.

We reached the ground level and I turned in a slow circle. The Wastelands stretched on in every direction, the sun blazing above a massive mesa far off in the distance, but there wasn't a sign anyone was nearby.

"Anything?" I asked.

"We're clear. Get going. That pink girl has to be looking for us by now," Sinon said.

"Her name's Llenn. Kind of a badass from what I've heard. She's pretty much the epitome of big things in small packages," I said, hoofing it in the direction of the cave.

"Pitohui was no easy opponent either," Sinon noted. "She's much more ferocious than any GGO player I've come across.

"You're not wrong," I said as we entered a long stretch of shade underneath a tall dune. "It's a good thing you didn't ditch me back at Valley Moor. I would've been toast otherwise."

Sinon didn't say anything right away, but I felt her wound her arms loosely around my neck and shoulders. Little by little she eased against my back until the heat of her body became impossible to ignore. "Fifty-fifty. I did say I'd always be there for you, didn't I?" she said.

I swallowed, voice shaking "Y-Yeah, you did, and you came through on that. I'm, y'know, grateful." I bowed my head in thanks, but my thoughts were starting to get fuzzy. More and more I found it harder to concentrate as Sinon relaxed fully, the soft curve of her body settling easily against me. She let out a small sigh and I scarcely realized my heart racing at a feverish pace. Teenage nerves bundled together with a growing happiness that made my face burn.

"You better be," she murmured, and it became even harder to concentrate with her hair whispering against my skin. "I hope you'll be ready to make it up to me when the time comes."

"I'll buy you a cake when it's all over. Promise," I said.

"The ones from Ginza are my favorite. Remember that, okay?"

"Ginza?" I furrowed my brow. "You live in Tokyo, then?"

Sinon stiffened her posture and her arms twitched ever so slightly. I was sure that if I looked at her now, her eyes would be as wide as saucers. Her voice was stuck in her throat for a long second, then she said, "Y-Yes. I used to live out in the country with my grandparents, but...things happened like they sometimes do and I moved to Tokyo by the time I entered high school."

"Oh, you like it?"

"Not at first. It was too busy. Too loud. Whenever I attended school, I just went through the motions and walked back home as quickly as possible. I didn't know anybody in my classes and I didn't really make an effort to change that. Keeping to myself was just easier," she said. "At least until I met Shinkawa, but…"

"You don't have to say," I quickly allayed her hesitation, "Sounds like you've been through a lot."

Sinon nodded. "But I'm still here."

"Yeah, you are," I said. "And for what it's worth, you can always talk to me if something's on your mind, I'll be there to help you out as best I can. Even if all I'm good for is cheap platitudes."

I watched her out of the corner of my vision. The way Sinon's eyes fell on me, as if she were scrutinizing my facial expression, made my face heat up in slight embarrassment. After what felt like an eternity, her blank stare broke and she cracked a small smile.

"Don't downplay yourself. I talk to you about these things for a reason, you know," she said with a slight shake of her head. "I...well, I trust you. You've stuck by my side all this time, even though there's plenty of reason to leave, what with people targeting you just because you're with me."

Hearing her express her trust in me filled me with a childlike sense of glee. I did my best to hide it. "Hey, don't worry about me. I've been holding my own just fine. So what if people are attacking me because I'm your friend?"

"You wouldn't have to deal with it if you weren't."

"I don't care. You're worth the risk," the words left my mouth before checking in with the rest of me. I quickly snapped my jaw shut and forced myself to look forward in a meager attempt to ignore my burning ears.

A heartbeat passed. Then another. When we left the long shadow casted by the dune above us, Sinon pressed her palm against my chest, fingers spread.

"S-So are you," she whispered.

Oh.

Bubbling, raging, passionate emotions riled up and slammed against my heart like a tide trying to break through a dam. I took a deep breath to contain it, but the combination of Sinon's warmth and her steady breathing against my ear made it all but impossible. It reminded me too much of what we shared in the shooting range and set my nerves alight once again.

Our eyes met and something sparked between us, like a switch was flipped. A faint blush crept up on Sinon's face. Her eyes smoldered with something I could only describe as a mix of want and uncertainty. The hand on my chest reached up to my face, her fingers grazing the side of my cheek, caring and delicate.

"We're a hell of a picture, aren't we?" I said.

"Something like that, yeah," Sinon said, her voice heavy with warmth. "I can only imagine what Argo would do if she saw us like this."

"Sell the info probably. I'd have a lot of angry guys after me," I said with a half-smirk, but it faded away as a certain desire swelled up inside me. "But...y'know, I don't think I'd mind too much."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. If it meant staying with you, I'd endure it," I shied off and added. "As long as I get to see you, I'll be okay."

Sinon blinked. Her eyes shone. A small, demure smile took hold of her, and at that moment she was the prettiest thing in the world to me.

"Do you know why I don't want to make mistakes?" she suddenly asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Why?"

"I've made decisions I'm not proud of," Sinon whispered. "And I'm afraid of making more. That's why I left Alfheim. To stop myself from making one I'll regret for the rest of my life."

Words failed me. So I stayed quiet for her.

"I wanted to be on my own. At least then I wouldn't end up hurting people I cared about," She said, taking a moment to collect herself. "But then you came along, and the more you stuck around, the more I began to care about you too. And now here I am, afraid of messing something up again."

"Sinon, there's — "

"Don't talk," she said gently. "Just listen, please."

So I did.

"You've been a good friend to me when it mattered. You've listened to me rant and pour my heart out on things I hardly tell anyone anymore. When things were rough, you lightened the mood and made me feel better in your own weird way. That's why I don't want to lose you either. So...please tell me. What happened back at the range, was that a mistake?"

I looked away from her, over at a couple of boulders as I walked past them. Having her that close to me, the memory sent shivers down my spine. "Not to me."

Sinon took a shuddering breath. "Me neither. And saying I'd be by your side no matter what. Was that a mistake?"

"Where are you…" I met her eyes. Her gaze was unflinching, but her lips quivered. I blinked, then gave a shake of my head. "No. That wasn't a mistake either."

"Okay. I thought the same," she said. Sinon took a deep breath and in her eyes I saw the flicker of fire that I had always been so mesmerized by, so fierce and beautiful that I almost didn't notice her cupping my cheek. "Then...tell me. Be honest. Am I about to make a mistake right now?"

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't pull my eyes off of her. Everything else just melted away at that moment. A confusing mess of feelings churned and pulled against my chest, but one fact stood clear amongst all the others. I cared immensely about Sinon. That would never change.

"No."

Sinon nodded, her breath teasing my lips. "Good."

She pulled me in close, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, then she kissed my cheek, soft and gentle and perfect. It lingered for a long, sweet moment, and a bashful sound rumbled in her throat and when she pulled away. The heat left behind sent pleasant shivers throughout my body. She sighed, hot and shaky, and quickly pecked me on the cheek one more time before withdrawing for good.

Sinon turned away from me, but there was nothing she could do to hide the volcanic shade of red on her face. "Get going already. They're going to catch up to us at this rate."

I cleared my throat and started jogging again, holding Sinon a bit closer, a content smile growing on my face.

"Whatever you say, partner."


	14. Headhunters: Chapter 14

**Thank y'all for your tremendous support! I couldn't have asked for more. Had to deal with real life stuff like Uni applications and long work shifts and the like. Summer vacations don't really exist for me anymore, sadly, so seeing you guys enjoy what I'm putting out regardless of that means a lot to me. Again, thank you!**

* * *

Chapter 14

"I was expecting something more...inviting? A welcome mat would have been a good start," I said.

If Sinon was shooting me any kind of look, I didn't see it. I was too busy taking in the sight of the cave's yawning entrance. It was larger than I expected, at about fifteen feet high and double that across. Sunlight reached inside only to be absorbed by an almost impenetrable darkness. A couple of duralumin cases were sitting just inside the cave's gaping maw, flipped open and completely empty save for the bits of sand collecting inside. I looked around the bottom of the small canyon we found ourselves in, but there was nothing else to see.

The Wastelands were pockmarked with caves like the one standing before us. On the whole, most of them were only several dozen meters deep and had loot worth maybe a couple hundred credits. That's the best case scenario. The worst is a pissed off monster ready to cleave you in half for stepping in it's turf.

Nothing growled at me when I stepped up to the mouth of the cave. There weren't any claws coming at my face either. I took it as a good sign and let myself in.

"If this cave's anything like the basement, the entrance is going to be hidden so keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary," I said to Sinon, minding my footsteps on the uneven terrain since I was still carrying her on my back.

It took awhile for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The cave walls were rough and warped, forming bumps and bulges in various places in way only nature could accomplish. Or a very dedicated dev. The bones of something big and long dead sat half-buried beneath a pile of rubble, the elongated skull now home to a couple of spiders using its eye sockets to house their clutches of eggs.

Once the floor turned into an acceptable level of flat, I glanced around without stopping. It was getting harder to see with what little sunlight made it this far and nothing in particular pointed me any closer to our next clue. I came to a halt, biting my lip.

"Sinon, you see anything?" I asked. I kicked a rock further into the cave and heard it hit a wall a little ways off. Dead end. We had to be close. "Sinon?"

She didn't answer. When I watched her out of the corner of my eye, I caught her staring at me intently. The expression she wore, barely visible with the lack of light, was soft and touched with a certain amount of what I could only describe as anxiety.

"You there, Sinon?" I gave her a slight shake. She snapped back to reality with a start, her arms tensing around my neck.

"What? What is it?"

"You were spacing out there. Again. Are you alright?" I asked, sitting her down on a raised portion of stone where the cave walls met the floor.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking," she said. She buried half of her face behind her muffler and a barely audible sigh escaped her lips, her eyes dropping to the ground. "You don't have to worry so much."

"Not in my nature, unfortunately."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point," she said with a hint of a smile in her voice. "But I'm okay, really. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

I couldn't blame her. She wasn't the only one who'd been thinking a lot. Hormonally speaking, I was on the moon, still riding the high of the kiss she'd given me on the way over. I could still recall every little detail with perfect clarity. The warmth of her lips, the soft press against my cheek. It was enough to set my face alight.

I knelt down in front of Sinon. She fidgeted in place, avoiding my gaze while pulling at the fingers of her opposite hand. I frowned at her. "Come on, tell me what you're thinking."

She went still, but refused to do much else. "Things aren't going to be the same between us, are they?"

"I don't think they are," I answered truthfully.

"So, what happens to us now?" she asked. I chewed over my words. I didn't have a lot of experience when it came to romantic relationships. Even less when it came to something intimate over a VRMMO. True, there were some people out there who actually had a fulfilling, worthwhile relationship through a full-dive in the AmuSphere, mostly long-distance couples itching to see each other in person, or at least the closest thing to it. But was that even what Sinon was looking for?

And for that matter, what was I hoping to get out of this?

I wanted to be close to her, I knew that much. I wanted to be there for her and spend time together whenever possible, but I have to admit, I didn't think farther than that. Never in a million years did I think Sinon and I could ever be anything more than just good friends, even if some part of me wished for more. But now here we were, unsure of where we would take ourselves.

"You got me," I raked my fingers through my hair. "You, well, you mean a lot to me, Sinon. You took me in when you didn't really have to and you've been with me after all this time. That's why I don't want to assume anything and I definitely don't want to do anything you don't want to. That's why I want to know where your head is in all this."

Sinon sat there, stunned. She brought one of the tail ends of her muffler around and started fiddling with it. "Our friendship is important to me. More than anything, I don't want to lose it. I don't want to lose you, because when you're around, I feel more at ease than I've had in a long time. But lately, I've started feeling nervous too. And worried. It's hard to explain."

"Butterflies in your stomach?" I asked.

"Maybe," she said. "What happened back there wasn't a mistake. We agreed on it. And well…" Sinon averted her eyes again, face flushed. "It felt nice too."

Hard to argue with her on that.

"But this is all new to me. I don't want to hurt your feelings because the last time something like this happened, I..." Sinon's voice turned raw and she left her words hanging in the air for a moment. I sensed an underlying emotion in her words. An old hurt. She leaned forward and took one of my hands in between her own. "I just need to figure out what I want with you. If that makes sense. If it turns out we both...if we're both looking for the same thing, I want it to go right."

My heart began to race out of growing happiness, but something in the way Sinon spoke gave me pause. I'd never heard her speak that way before. She'd always been the sort of person to put things at arm's length. Even when it came to the feud we had with Ikuchi, she spoke with a kind of clinical detachment. It was just who she was. It's what I came to know her by.

She was right. Things were already changing between us. Sinon's mask had slipped. Maybe I wasn't talking to the ice cold sniper, but rather the girl behind the name. The girl in the real world. Whoever she was.

The thought excited me, but it worried me too. We were taking a huge step together. Our boundaries would change. Sinon had crafted her online persona, but I'd be a fool to think it was exactly what she was like in the real world. If her mask slipped all the way, if she showed me who she truly was, I'd have to accept it. Come what may, I would have to learn to appreciate that other side of her too. And she would do the same with me.

We'd have to be honest with each other. Embrace all of who we were if we wanted our relationship to be deeper.

"I get it. It's a lot to take in. And we're not in the best circumstances to be doing so," I replied, trying to quell the hectic thoughts running through my head. "We said we'd talk after this is all over. You still up for that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's never been a question to me," she said, leaning forward, her voice gaining a measure more of the certainty I'd become familiar with.

"Alright. So it's settled then," The corners of my lips twitched upwards slightly as I started to rise. That's when I noticed the dark splotch next to her. The outer edges were barely visible in the low light of the cave. I swiped the air to open my menu and used its dim glow as an improvised flashlight. The stain was a fine dark powder as thin as a layer of dust on an attic floor. Normally, I would have passed it off as a bit of odd level design, but the way it ran down to the floor, right underneath and past my boot, made me think otherwise.

"What is that stuff?" Sinon asked. I swabbed my finger over it. It wasn't coarse or rough like sand. If anything, it felt more like flour and crumbled easily when I rubbed my forefinger and thumb together. Curiosity got the better of me. I took a small whiff and caught the faintest scent of strawberries.

Well, that's a hell of a swerve.

"No idea," I finally answered her. A yawn suddenly forced its way out and I rubbed my eyes, exhaustion threatening to overwhelm me. All the running, fighting, and general exertion was starting to take its toll. I sighed. Curling up in a nice, warm bed and sleeping for a week sounded like a wonderful idea, but I couldn't afford to slack off now. There were still things I had to do.

"Look, it's ends right there," Sinon pointed over my shoulder. True to her word, the line of powder ended at the cave wall behind me. Nestled inside a gathering of rocks at its base was another glass globe like the one I found in the basement of the building in Valley Moor.

"Good eye," I got to my feet and stood in front of the little globe. I fished the keycard out of my breast pocket and held it out in front of me where just like before, the glass globe blinked to life to engulf me in a cone of brilliant light. A section of the cave wall rumbled and stone parted vertically, a faint blue glow pouring through.

I took a peek inside. There was a short hallway. Mirrors ran down its length and LED's lined the metal floor as a faint light source, but best of all a thick, purple mist hovered on the ground, creeping steadily toward me. I let out a string of curses and scampered back to get out of its way, but when the mist reached the border of the secret entrance, it stopped dead in its tracks like it hit a pane of glass.

"Right. This doesn't look dangerous at all," I said. I took a single step inside against my better judgement and the mist coiled around my ankle. To my relief, my health didn't go down and I wasn't being inflicted with any status effects either. It was safe. At least at these levels. I went back to Sinon and half-carried, half-dragged her into the hall with me

Bringing a wounded girl who may have an interest in me into a hallway filled with weird purple gas, who says I'm not a gentleman?

"You take me to the nicest places," Sinon said with a small, teasing grin.

"What can I say? I'm a giver," I answered her back. "Exotic locales, heart-racing experiences, friendly people. The whole package."

At the end of the hall was a massive blast door, scratched up and marred with enough scorch marks to make me think it took a beating from a small army's worth of explosives. The card reader next to it had its wires exposed and tangled, but remarkably, it looked to still be in working condition.

I left Sinon leaning against the mirrored walls for support then went to slide the keycard. I heard it at the last second. The whistle of a knife slicing through air. Sinon tried to warn me. A gunshot reverberated through the room and I whipped around just in time to catch Pitohui's knife between my ribs as she all but lifted me off my feet from the force of the thrust, pinning me against the wall.

"Aww, there you are. You left without saying goodbye," she sneered.

I glared at her, growling through clenched teeth, clutching the knife between my fingers. "You were in the middle of something. Thought it'd be rude to interrupt."

Pitohui twisted the knife, pushing me further up the wall until my feet couldn't touch the ground. The sensation was discomforting to say the least. Like a butter knife pressing into your abdomen, never breaking the skin no matter how hard it digs into you. I sucked in a breath and tried to focus, tried to look for a way out.

Sinon was lying on the ground, clutching her leg where she'd been shot, her head barely above the purple mist covering the floor. Llenn, Tiny, and M all had their guns pointed at her and I feared they'd kill her right then and there.

"We don't have to do this. We don't have to fight," I said.

"Yeah, but why stop a good thing?" She asked.

"You're being played. Ikuchi set this whole thing up because of a grudge he has with Sinon."

Pitohui raised a brow. "Ooh, weren't you paying attention? This isn't about Ikuchi. In fact, I couldn't care less about what he wants. I've got my own reasons for coming after you two. Really, if anything, I might just use that keycard for myself. What's it for?" she asked.

"Let us go and maybe I'll tell you," I said. She threw her head back and laughed. The knife buried itself deeper. I had to fight myself to keep from making a sound. Mostly to deny Pitohui the satisfaction. Hell, I couldn't help but feel like I was in a slasher movie, the hapless teenager about to get gutted by the maniacal serial killer.

I needed a distraction. A few precious seconds at most, but with so many eyes around I couldn't afford to do anything fancy. It had to be fast, easy, and a touch bit reckless. Just my style nowadays.

"You got moxie, kid. But that doesn't win fights. If you aren't willing to throw down, then all you're good for is amusement," Pitohui said.

"I can do that. I've been known to crack a few jokes in my time. Ask Sinon, she's practically sick of them by now."

Pitohui glanced over her shoulder and I moved a hand towards my belt while she had her eyes away from me. "Aren't you cute," she smiled.

"I am very cute," I agreed. By the time she looked back at me, I had a hand raised in front of her face, a thin metal ring around my finger.

The last flashbang still secured to my belt detonated in a flash of light and noise. My vision was swallowed whole. A shockwave rattled me down to my bones. My ears rang. I lost all sense of balance and my brain rolled itself into knots trying to figure out what was going on. Some tiny part of me complained that I was an idiot. The rest of me was too disoriented to care.

When my vision started to clear, I found myself lying on my side, knife still sticking out of my ribs and my face less than an inch away from the mist. The sweet smell of strawberries invaded my nostrils and another rush of exhaustion hit me. Crap. I was hitting my limit. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes. To sleep forever. To savor the pleasing scent until I was good and gone from the world.

But a commotion brought me back. Everyone was crumpled on the ground, clutching their ears and blinking the blinding light away. Pitohui's dark eyes focused themselves on me. She lunged, fast and silent.

My limbs screamed at me as I moved them. Every little movement took twice the effort and I just barely managed to slip out of her grasp. I reached the card reader above me and fumbled for my breast pocket, trying desperately to fish the keycard out until Pitohui grabbed a fistful of hair from my head and smashed my face against the wall. My nose crunched and bent at an awkward angle. Tiny red pixels dripped down my face. She reared my head back again, but I threw my arm out in front of me, bracing it against the wall before she could flatten my face a second time. I pulled the knife out of my ribs with a quick yank and turned at the waist, swiping the blade out, cutting a deep red gash across Pitohui's chest.

The slice surprised her enough to let me go. I dropped the knife, got the keycard out, and slid it through the card reader, almost dropping it in the process. It chirped in response. The blast door heaved like a giant awoken from its slumber. It shuddered and strained, then parted horizontally in the middle.

I didn't realize I'd made a mistake until it started to open.

More purple mist seeped inside like a torrent. It was a miasma, a choking smog. I couldn't see into the other room. The ankle high mist started reaching up to my knees.

I managed to get up to my feet and turned around. The entrance was already shut. We were trapped.

"Not good. Really not good," I muttered. Panic rose in my chest when I saw Sinon struggling to stand. I rushed to her side, but I didn't manage more than a couple of feet before Pitohui swung her leg out into my gut. The wind was knocked out of me as she planted her foot on the ground, spun in place, and smashed the heel of her other foot into my jaw.

Dots of white light exploded behind my eyes. I crashed into the mirrors on the wall hard enough to bounce my head off them. I couldn't see straight. I backed myself into a corner in some meager attempt to keep myself upright. Somewhere in the room, several gunshots went off, but I was too dazed to make heads or tails of who was shooting who.

"Still got a little fight in you after all this time," I heard Pitohui say. Another gunshot rang out and a numbing pain lanced up my stomach to my chest. The world abruptly came into focus. Pitohui held her AKM at her shoulder, a thin trail of smoke wafting from its barrel.

She fired again at the same spot. More discomfort ate away at my guts. I grit my teeth and fumbled for my sawed-off, but Pitohui closed the distance rammed the stock of her rifle against my throat. I made a sick, strangling noise that didn't sound human. Instinct got the better of me as I clutched the wooden stock in a desperate attempt to free myself.

"I have to admit, you're more entertaining than most of the others I end up killing." she said. "You're actually fighting back. Giving me a hell of a chase too. I could hardly ask for more! But it's a done deal. Sometimes, you gotta know when to fold 'em"

I couldn't do much more than gurgle a response to her.

Pitohui shook her head. "It's been — "

Sinon shot her in the back of the head.

A splash of red pixels showered my face. Pitohui's head jerked forwards and she collapsed to the ground in a slump, her body disappearing beneath the thick purple fog.

I blinked and muttered, "Holy shit."

"Are you okay?" Sinon asked, completely unbothered by the execution-style killing she performed. If anything she looked more concerned about my own well-being. "When I saw what she was doing…"

"Yeah. Yeah, no. Don't worry about me," I said, rubbing the area of my neck where the stock of Pitohui's rifle had been. "What happened to the others?"

Sinon leaned to the side. I saw M sinking into the fog, face twisted with exhaustion. Llenn and Tiny were nowhere to be seen.

"I shot his kneecaps," Sinon explained. "The girls are short. They were the first to sink into that fog and they haven't done a thing since. It's like they vanished."

"Yeah and we'll be next if we don't find a way out of here," I said. I had to control my breathing to keep from inhaling too much of the mystery smoke as it made its way up my chest. The scent of strawberries, while pleasant, signaled a danger I didn't fully understand.

Sinon furrowed her brow and tried to walk towards me. I met her halfway, putting my arms around her to keep her from falling. She looked like hell. I picked out at least half a dozen bullet wounds on her body in addition to the glowing red graze on her left cheek. One of the black hair clips framing the sides of her face had come undone and dangled lopsided by a few strands of hair. On top of all that, she was still limping. Her ankle hadn't healed. "Do you have any ideas? Because I don't see a way out."

I chewed on my tongue, mind working at a frenzied pace. There had to be an escape route. Judging from the fact that the smoke was slowly filling the room rather than flooding it instantly, we were on a sort of timer. If that was the case, the devs wouldn't have trapped us in here without an out. We just had to find it.

Pushing further in wasn't an option. We'd be running into the thickest portion of the smoke. Which meant the room we were in held our answer. It was a theory, but it was all I had.

I scanned the walls for anything useful, but nothing stood out. Then I looked up and almost cried out in joy. There, on the ceiling, was a large vent.

"Up there," I said, bending my knees and interlacing my fingers together. "Come on, I'll give you a boost."

Sinon put her good foot in my hands and held onto my shoulders for balance. I pushed her up as high as I could until she managed to hook her fingers into the vent's grate to push it aside. I gave one final heave and she clambered inside, poking her head back out and offering her hand to me. "Jump up, I got you."

I nodded and tensed my legs for the jump. Then something slammed into my back hard enough to almost knock me off my feet. I slammed into the wall, knocking the air out of my lungs and I instinctively tried to take a deep breath. The strawberry smell and wave of weariness reminded me not to do that.

The smoke almost reached my neck. I couldn't see what hit me but I knew it wasn't leaving.

Sinon shouted my name and said, "I'm coming down."

"No! Get going. Look for a way to shut this gas off," A fist socked me right in the stomach with the force of a battering ram. I struggled to keep myself upright and fought the urge to breathe in the smoke climbing higher and higher.

"I'm not leaving you there."

"Yes, you are. This isn't up for debate," I said. I looked up at her, "Go, now!"

Something swept my legs out from under me. I hit the ground face first and the first thing I caught was the full brunt of the smoke's sweet fragrance. The small whiffs I'd taken before were kiddie stuff compared to the real deal. My head floated like a balloon. A warm, comfortable glow tugged at my chest, tempting me, _begging_ me to lie still and rest for a minute.

I was exhausted. I'd been fighting the toughest players I'd ever fought in my GGO career and they were all either dead or lost in the smoke with me. What was the harm in resting my eyes for a minute? None. What would I gain? A lot. I'd be well rested for one thing. I'd think clearer and react quicker. I'd be back in top shape. I just needed a minute to myself. One short rest.

Somewhere a thousand miles away I heard Sinon's voice, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what she was saying. It probably wasn't important. If it was, she'd be down here with me.

Huh, now there's a thought.

I yawned and turned over on my back. Pitohui crawled towards me on all fours, knife in hand. A large red spot glowed on her forehead where Sinon had shot her. I tried to growl but it came out strained and weak, like the squeaking of a newborn puppy.

Pitohui sank the knife into my thigh, used it to pull herself forward, then yanked it out and stabbed it again into my stomach. I didn't feel a thing. My entire body was numb.

"Just roll over and die for me, would you?" she slurred. She swayed to one side but quickly righted herself and brought the knife down at my face.

Her movements were sluggish. So were mine. But I hadn't been in the smoke nearly as long as she had. I threw my hand out in front of me and the knife sank hilt deep through my palm, out the back of my hand, and almost into my eye. I flinched. VRMMO or not, having a sharp object inches away from shish-kebabing your eyeball does wonders for waking you up.

"Sorry to disappoint," I said. My tongue felt like a brick, heavy and awkward.

Pitohui used both hands and the weight of her body to force it down even further. I jerked my face to the side and the blade sliced a shallow cut on my cheek. Her feral grin intensified, eyes growing larger and more deranged. "That's it! Just a little more and it'll all be over."

I glared at her, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. "You got that right."

The twin barrels of my sawed-off pressed against her stomach. The gun roared, spitting fire and buckshot point blank into Pitohui's body. The effect was immediate and not at all pretty. Her back exploded in a shower of pixelated gore. Chunks of virtual flesh splattered on the walls and ceiling, sticking to each surface for a moment before disintegrating. Pitohui's face turned pale. Her features went slack. Her grip on the knife slipped and she flopped down beside me, staring far off into nothingness. Her mouth twitched up in a grin and she said, "Hah...that was beautiful."

Pitohui went limp and she burst into pixels.

I holstered my sawed-off, or tried to. It took me a couple tries to get it right. I willed my legs to move, but they ignored me. Eventually, even my fingers refused to twitch.

"Ah, that's fine. Didn't feel like going anywhere anyways," I muttered. I shut my eyes, fatigue biting at the edges of my consciousness. Screw it. I needed a break anyways. I took a deep breath, tasted the sweet fragrance of the smoke, then felt myself slip away.

There were no dreams for me. No nonsensical landscapes or terrifying nightmares. No familiar faces, weird fantastical landscapes, or castles floating in the sky. I sank into a place of nothing, thought nothing, felt nothing. Then all at once, everything came rushing back to me.

My neck was sore as hell. In fact, my entire body throbbed with a burning ache. I blinked open my eyes and found myself staring up at a bare concrete ceiling. I turned my head and realized I was laying on an old cot. Even worse, I was sitting in a jail cell. The hallway on the other side of the bars was empty save for a light fixture dangling from the ceiling. It was still working, and the glow cast long shadows inside my new arrangements.

I sat up and put my feet on the ground. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Sinon, you still there?" I asked out loud. No response. I reached up to check my earpiece, but found it missing. A quick check of my HUD confirmed it. The party had been broken up. Which either meant she died or the game forced it after I'd been caught.

Apprehension slithered up my throat and it took a conscious effort to force it back down. It wouldn't do me any good to panic. I repeated the simple statement to myself like a mantra and got to my feet.

"Wh-what the heck is all this?!"

The voice almost made me jump out of my skin. I went for my sawed-off, but found the holster empty. My Oroshi Nine and MP7 were also missing. Great. This just keeps getting better.

Off in a cot in the corner was none other than Llenn. She jumped up to her feet and turned in a circle, eyes wide and panicky. She completely ignored me and raced to the cell door, pushing on it with all the strength her tiny body could muster. It didn't budge.

"Hey, I think you're in the wrong place. Juvie's down the hall," I remarked. Llenn shot me an unamused frown and went back to pushing against the cell door.

"C'mon, let me out," she said. When it refused to move, she huffed and stamped her foot on the ground. "This is insane. What is this? Why are we in jail?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said. I was about the start inspecting the room when I heard a chime in my ear. I'd been dealing with Ikuchi for months and dodging bounty hunters for almost as long as that. I never really had time to properly play the game anymore. So when the sound of a quest being activated rang in my ears, I felt a little nostalgic.

A pair of objectives appeared under my health bar. The first one was crossed out and marked with a little red X. _Escape the hallway,_ it read. Referring to the smoke filled corridor if I had to guess. Since I failed it, I most likely had to jump through more hoops just to play catch up.

Evolving gameplay, oooh.

The second objective was simple enough. Break out of my cell. Easier said than done.

Above both objectives was the name of the quest. After going through all the trouble of locating, securing, then stealing a keycard, evading bounty hunters, shooting up a town, finding a hidden power plant, and exploring a cave, the name of the quest, the first clue to what this was all for, was just a measly three simple words.

 _That Which Remains..._

I furrowed my brow. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Llenn let out a little grunt of frustration and then approached me with her hands on her hips. "Where's Pitohui and the others?"

"Couldn't tell you about Tiny and M," I said. "But Pitohui's dead. I killed her."

Llenn's eyes were difficult to make out under the brim of her cap, but she bowed her head and kicked at the ground. "Jeez, Pito. Of all the things you've had me do since we've met."

I arched a brow at her. "This isn't the first time she's had you hunt people down?"

"Oh, no, no. It is, don't get me wrong. It's just that she usually drags me into crazy situations with no warning whatsoever. This is just the latest stunt she's pulled on me," Llenn said.

"You can't just back out?"

"You've obviously never met Pito," Llenn said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "But if she's dead now, I have to take care of you myself. That's what she wanted us to do. Sorry."

"Woah, hey, let's not get too hasty," I said, lifting a hand to placate her. "I don't want to fight you. Besides, I don't have my weapons anymore and I'm willing to bet the same goes for you too, right?"

Llenn's eyebrows shot up and she patted herself down, her head turning this way and that. Even in the dim lighting I could make out the alarm on her face as she tore through the pockets and pouches in her clothing at a frantic pace.

I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she had nothing to kill me with, I was in the clear. I just had to get away from her before she corrected the issue.

"P-chan? Where's P-chan? What happened to P-chan?!" Llenn ran from one side of the cell to the other, searching every corner and under every cot with a desperate energy, her speed a blur as she all but dashed from one place to the next. "If anything happened to it, I don't know what I'd do."

Not kill me, for one, but I kept that to myself. I guess Sinon wasn't the only girl around who cherished her weapon of choice. But to go as far as giving it a name? That was new.

After running herself ragged looking for her gun, Llenn came to a stop, hands on her knees, her breathing a little harder, and regarded me with a calculating gaze. "You don't have anything on you either, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" I answered.

"Then you can stay here. I'm going to go look for P-chan and when I come back with M and Fuka, we'll decide what to do with you," Llenn marched towards the cell's bars without waiting for a reply.

"You're joking right? How do you expect to get out of here?" I asked.

Turns out, Llenn's childlike frame wasn't just for making her a smaller target. She examined the bars for a moment, then turned herself sideways. After a bit of effort, she pushed herself through and managed to squeeze herself between them into the hallway on the other side.

Well, crap.

I stood there with my jaw hanging open. Evidently, they don't make jail cells in munchkin size.

Llenn studied me one last time, then scampered out of sight, where I heard the hiss of an automatic door opening and closing. Guess she wasn't joking.

I cursed under my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. No backup, no guns, and no way out. I was stuck in a cell inside a facility I had no knowledge of. Oh, and Llenn was coming back with friends, presumably to put a bullet between my eyes once they got their guns back.

A losing hand if I ever saw one.

"Goddamn it…" I kicked the cot next to me. It didn't give me a way out, but it did make me feel a little bit better. I spent a few minutes looking around the cell with no clue as to how to get out. I was about the attempt to slide through the bars myself when the hiss of a door opening stopped me cold. I stepped back a few feet, dreading the Llenn's probable return. But instead, a security robot with thin metal legs, a rusted chassis, and a dented head walked into my view. Its blue and white color scheme had faded with time and its joints stuttered with every little step. It was nothing short of a miracle it was still working at all.

It's bulbous red eyes focused on me and tapped the baton in its hand against the bars. Its voice crackled with static, "Step away and go back to your bed, prisoner."

I took a step forward. I'm rebellious like that.

"Is my lawyer here, yet?" I asked it. The robot slammed its baton against the bars, sending blue sparks flying. An electric baton. Not a fun thing to get hit by.

I gave it a once over and measured my chances against it, but I found something even better than my odds. On its hip was a keyring. My way out.

A faint grin touched my lips. I rushed forward, threw my hands through the spaces between the bars to grab the robot by the back of its head, and smashed its face against them. I snatched the baton from its hand and jammed it between the metal plates of its chassis. The acrid smell of burnt metal reached my nose as the robot convulsed and slumped against the jail cell. Arcs of lightning jumped from one joint to another and I felt the sting of it a few times as I dropped the baton and grabbed the robot's keys.

It took a few tries to find the correct one, but after the fourth attempt, the cell door unlocked with a satisfying _clunk._ I stepped out and a new objective appeared under the old ones.

 _Explore the depths of the facility._

"Alright, the game is afoot," I gave the robot a kick for good measure then headed out the same door Llenn did.

The hallway on the other side was as empty as the cell block. Panels on the wall were torn open and tossed aside, exposing electrical conduits still spitting sparks out onto the floor. A door not too far to my right kept opening and shutting with an error message scrolling across the keypad display next to it. Random tools I couldn't even guess the purpose of were strewn about the floor next to utility carts, tool boxes, and open vents. I wasn't much of an investigator, but I could tell there was an explanation to the mess. Environmental storytelling, it's called. The former occupants of this hidden facility were trying to keep the place alive. The only question was why.

I headed down the corridor to my left while listening for anything out of place. I passed over some thick electrical cables and discarded tool boxes when a faint whirring noise came from behind me. In the time it took me to turn around, something came around the corner at the other end of the hall. Or rather, it _flew_.

A pill-shaped drone roughly the size of a travel suitcase came towards me, suspended in the air by two propellers, it's red camera lens turning left and right until it settled on me. The drone stopped in place. The glow of its lens shrank down to a pinpoint bead of light and let out a mechanical howl. A gun turret unfolded from underneath it and started shooting.

In my infinite wisdom, I knew there was only one thing to do when confronted by an enemy with a distinct advantage over you. Run like hell.

I bolted down the hall, hunching my shoulders to make my head as small a target as possible. The bullets came not long after. The bad thing about hallways is that they're a long stretch of nothing. Nowhere to take cover and only one way to go. Even a newbie couldn't miss a shot at me.

What felt like two rocks pounded against my back. My health dipped down, but I wasn't in any danger yet. I let the shots spur me on as the whirring of the drone's rotors grew louder.

I ducked into the first intersection I came across and hissed in frustration when I came to a dead end, with nothing but a few lockers and a bundle of rebar leaning against them. I grabbed one of the steel bars and pressed my back against the wall, arms raised in a batter's stance. When the drone came around the corner, I swung with all my might, smashing its lens and crushing its body, sending fragments flying in every direction.

The drone hit the ground, but I wasn't going to chance it getting up for round two. I swung down at it again and again, until the thing was in pieces and the engine in its propellers died with a pitiful whine. The drone dissolved into pixelated fragments and I allowed myself a small sigh of relief, relaxing the tension in my arms

Then I heard Llenn scream and it all came rushing back.

Without thinking twice, I sprinted back down the hallway I came from, still clutching the rebar, until I came to a set of double doors. I rammed my shoulder through them, holding my new weapon at the ready for whatever was waiting on the other side.

We were in a cafeteria if the long tables and metal food trays were anything to go by. Llenn was on the other side of the room, holding a pistol she must have scavenged at some point close to her chest. She stared in abject horror at the thing standing between us: the Ruined Prototype.

Neither Llenn nor the Prototype noticed me, and some small part of me briefly entertained the idea of turning around and leaving. It would have been the smart thing to do — I couldn't scratch the Prototype, after all. At least if Llenn distracted it, it'd buy me enough time to put some distance between us, possibly giving me the opportunity to find my guns or regroup with Sinon.

Yeah, that would've been the smart thing to do.

Too bad I'm not too keen on doing the smart thing.

"Leave her alone!" I snarled, banging the end of the rebar against the floor. The Prototype whipped its head around to me. Llenn's eyes widened and I shot her a look, wordlessly telling her to get clear. I turned my attention back to the android as it stalked towards me and I moved to my right to keep one of the cafeteria tables between us. "You've been coming after me for so long, I figured it'd be my turn to find you."

It never ceased to unnerve me how unnatural its movement was. Every step was perfect, fluid, encapsulating a deadly, effortless finesse. Real people stumble or take one step too far; they rock from side to side and sometimes hesitate to change course. The Prototype didn't. Where people walked, it glided.

The Prototype howled a fiendish battle cry. It brought down its claw on the table between us, snapping it half like it was plywood, then hurled one end at me at a literal breakneck speed. If I hadn't been on guard, it would have killed me outright.

I threw myself to the side and rolled up to my feet as it dived at me. I swung my rebar, aiming for its face and felt it strike home. The blow threw it off course, its claws missing my body by inches. The android crashed into another table, scattering metal trays and chairs, and in the time it took to get back to its feet, I was already halfway across the room.

"Llenn, get to the exit now!" I shouted. She hesitated for a split second while holstering her pistol then bolted for another door on her end of the cafeteria. I moved in behind her, legs pumping furiously.

"Where are we going?" she asked without stopping. I grit my teeth, trying to keep up with her ludicrous speed. She was slowing down for my sake, but even her version of slow could outrun Olympic athletes.

"Anywhere that isn't here," I barked back. The Prototype's howl warned of another incoming attack. I turned to face it again, only to find the cafeteria empty. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and instinct compelled me to look up.

The Prototype lunged from the ceiling, claws extended mid-swipe, coming at me in the blink of an eye. I couldn't dodge it in time. I twisted to the side, trying to minimize the damage and less than a second later, I felt the sting of its claws slash deep into my back. The sheer momentum made me stumble. I braced onto a nearby pillar for support, heard the howl again, then jerked my head back as the Prototype's claws sailed past my face and buried themselves knuckle-deep into the concrete.

"Damn, who does your nails?" I asked.

The android tore its claws free with a vicious snarl in response. I answered it by popping it in the mouth with the end of the rebar. The blow was quick and stunned it long enough for me to regroup with Llenn, but soon after the furious pounding of the Prototype's four legged run followed after me.

"Llenn, the door. Get the door!" She didn't hesitate the second time around. She pushed the double doors open and ran into the hallway. The way was clear, but it wouldn't mean a thing if the Prototype came hot on my heels after me. I skidded to a halt and turned to face it down, legs spaced evenly apart in a defensive stance, rebar held at the ready. "Come on, give me a nice big smile."

My opponent knew better than to pounce straight at me again. Instead, it closed the distance and swung a low horizontal swipe at my feet. I jumped over its attack to land on one of the cafeteria tables and swung my rebar at its head. The Prototype ducked and retaliated with a counter strike, intending to cut me in half at the waist, but I swept my rebar to the side and deflected it away from me.

The android was strong as hell. Just batting aside its attack took a considerable amount of effort. It brought its other claw in a downwards arc and I barely managed to bring my rebar up above my head to block it. My knees buckled under the android's tremendous strength. The table groaned like it was on the verge of snapping.

It suddenly occurred to me what I'd made a fatal mistake. The rebar I'd been using to defend myself was high above my head, leaving the rest of me vulnerable. Right on cue, like it knew it all along, the Prototype drew its other hand back and thrust its claws at my stomach. I braced myself for the worst.

Llenn appeared out of nowhere and threw herself at the Prototype's head, wrapping her legs around its neck and emptying her pistol's magazine into its face all while letting out a childish little warcry. The android stumbled back, digging its claws into Llenn's back to pry her off, but the girl was resilient and kept her hold.

"Go, hurry! I'll be okay," she said over her shoulder. I ran out the door into the hallway. When I turned around, Llenn kicked off the Prototype's face in a neat little backflip and raced out to meet me. The moment she joined me, I slammed the double doors shut and slid the rebar through the handles moments before several bangs came from the other side. There was another enraged howl and then a fist sized dent exploded from the door. Yikes.

"Now you sit there and think about what you've done," I panted. "We gotta go. That's not going to hold it for long."

Llenn took off and I followed after her, trusting she knew where she was going. We weaved through several hallways filled with more discarded tools. Occasionally a few drones tried to take aim at us, but Llenn dispatched them all with a single well placed shot to their lenses without so much as breaking stride.

We stopped at a four way intersection. I checked behind us, listening intently, paranoia gripping my heart. After running into the Prototype again, I wasn't about to leave anything to chance. A few seconds went by and the only thing I could hear was my own steady breathing. I shut my eyes and heaved a weary sigh.

Then I heard the tell tale sound of a pistol's slide being worked in front of me.

I just can't catch a break.

"Even after all that?" I asked Llenn, more drained than irritated.

"Sorry. People have tried to shoot me in the back before. I'm just being careful," she said, pointing the gun at my head.

"So you're going to shoot me in the front?"

"I'm being careful," Llenn repeated.

"Look, Llenn I told you already that I want to avoid a fight. Can you please put that away? I don't even have anything to hurt you with."

"I don't know if I can believe you. You killed Pitohui already."

"After she shot me and put a knife through my hand."

"But you've tricked a lot of bounty hunters before, right?"

"Because I was outnumbered and outgunned. I had to get creative if I wanted to survive."

Llenn pursed her lips together and I tried my best to make myself look as nonthreatening as possible. I wanted to avoid killing her if I could help it. Unlike Pitohui, she came off as much more reasonable.

"Ikuchi wants a keycard from you. Do you actually have it?" she asked. I paused and seriously considered lying to her, but I needed her on my side. We helped each other once already, however short a time it was. But it could be enough to afford me even the slightest amount of trust. After all, when you're in hot water, it would be wise to start making friends.

"Yeah. I do now. Not when this whole thing started though," I said.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Are you going to take it?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to parse the tone of her voice. For such an adorable appearance, Llenn could look quite serious when she wanted to.

"If you do take it, Ikuchi wins. That may not seem like such a big thing to you, but it matters a lot to me. He wants me out of GGO, so that when the time comes, he can do the same to Sinon.

"What?" Llenn asked.

"He's obsessed with beating her, okay? And I'm not exaggerating here, his obsession is bordering on becoming unhinged. His own sister is getting worried," I said.

She raised a brow, "You aren't being serious, are you?"

"I really wish I wasn't. Ikuchi's been manipulating things in his favor. That keycard he asked you to get? He had it all along until recently. In fact, Sinon and I were the ones who gave it to him in the first place. Then he turned around and used it to backstab us and I've been trying to get this bounty off my head ever since."

Llenn blinked and lowered the pistol so that it was aimed at my neck rather than between my eyes. "That's insane. This is just a game. Why would he go through all this trouble?"

"He's...been through a lot. And he's not coping with it well. He's devoted himself completely to this online persona he's made and abandoned the real world in the process. Maybe he thinks by killing Sinon, he'll have some power or agency or whatever. Point is, he's dangerous and I need to stop him before things get worse," I said.

"For you?"

"Yeah. For him, too," I cleared my throat before I continued. "I've made promises that I can't break, Llenn. I need to sort this out. So please, help me. I'll pay you back somehow, whatever you want."

Footsteps came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Sinon approached the two of us with quick, even steps, her glock in hand. She gave me the barest hint of a smile, but it disappeared when she noticed Llenn pointing her gun at me. Without warning she took aim and I barely managed to place myself between the two girl's line of fire.

"Woah, easy. This doesn't need to get ugly," I said, holding my hands out in front of them. Sinon regarded me with nothing more than a quick glance. Her gun didn't waver.

Llenn managed to keep her cool. She lowered her pistol then said, "To be honest, this entire thing sounds sketchy. I don't know you but you're asking me to trust you. I don't think a lot of people would agree to that."

"You got me there. I know I'm basically asking you to take a leap of faith here, but you're the only person whose been willing to hear me out so far. That's more than I can say for the dozens of bounty hunters that have already come after me," I said. "I'm not asking you for a lot. Hell, if anything I'm asking you to do nothing at all. I imagine this bounty business doesn't really matter all that much to you. But I have a lot at stake here."

"I don't know."

"Look at it this way. If you let me go, I can finish what I started and you can be done with this quicker."

Far off in the distance, a metallic crunch echoed through the halls followed by a synthesized growl. We were running out of time. I clenched my teeth and said in a low murmur, "Plus that thing that cornered you in the cafeteria is still running around and we'd have a better chance of surviving longer if we work together."

Llenn sighed then muttered under her breath, "Good grief, why do I keep getting dragged into weird stuff like this?"

"Truce? Just for now. Until we can get clear of this thing," I asked. Llenn adjusted her bunny-eared cap and nodded. I started to head down the hallway to our left until Sinon placed her hand on my shoulder, giving me a gentle push towards the one on our right instead.

"There's something you should see. I found it while I was looking for you," she said. I nodded and followed her lead with Llenn bringing up the rear. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea having her watch our backs, but she didn't seem eager to kill me and I was willing to take the gamble.

However, it didn't stop Sinon from looking over her shoulder every few steps. Or making a show of checking the rounds in her magazine.

"She won't do anything," I assured her, keeping my voice low.

"How can you be so sure?" Sinon asked.

"She's not as bloodthirsty as Pitohui."

"You're a little too trusting of her," Sinon tilted her head to one side. "What happens if she does betray us?"

"Then you can rub it in my face every day for the rest of our lives. Every time we meet you can greet me by telling me how wrong I am and I will personally start handing out flyers in the center of Glocken every week telling people that you were right and that I was an idiot for doubting you. Fair?"

Sinon blinked. She did a good job of hiding her emotions and appearing disinterested when there were other people around, but I've been around her long enough to know when she was trying to contain her laughter around others. Her eyes would soften and glimmer ever so slightly, cheeks tensing like she's trying to keep herself from smiling. She looked more full of life.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought Llenn along.

"As long as we're clear on that," she released a slow breath, though her smile still remained. She looked me up and down and said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling a lot better now that you're here," I said.

"Flatterer," she replied. "But...me too. I got worried when the party was broken up. I thought Pitohui killed you."

"She had me on the ropes."

Rather than saying anything else, Sinon came to a step and held her hand out by way of invitation to another hall on our right. We rounded several more corners, each one making it more and more difficult to get a good layout of the place. Eventually, we came to another blast door. An empty security booth with several defunct cameras pointing at us was stationed next to it, its plexiglass shattered.

"What is this place?" I asked. Sinon didn't answer. She reached into the booth and flipped a switch inside. The blast door opened with a slow, deliberate motion.

What I saw on the other side made me shiver.

A cavernous chamber. Sleeping bags. Food tins scattered on the floor along with old hot plates and portable electric stoves. Ragged clothes covered in dirt and dust, discolored by the passage of time, hanging from improvised clotheslines. Ancient guns were left abandoned in one corner. Another was cordoned off by waist-high metal barriers where stretchers and medical equipment were neatly organized. There was too much to take in. Books, thermoses, batteries, water jugs, candles, toothbrushes, flashlights.

The implication was clear.

"People lived here," I said. I took a single step inside and felt like I was disturbing something that shouldn't have been touched. Even the air tasted different. Old. Like a tomb. "Sinon, the Wastelands used to be a place filled with top secret labs and military outposts, right?"

"Yes. Then the war happened," she said. I nodded. The war that destroyed the planet and left it little more than a desolate husk, according to GGO's lore. The Wastelands had endured the worst of it.

"The people that worked here were trapped because the world was on fire outside. All they could do was...hold on," I checked every side of the room and saw more open electrical panels and tools strewn around them. "Looks like they tried to keep the place going for as long as they could, but in the end it just wasn't enough."

"How awful," Llenn said as she too stepped inside. "But why is all this stuff here and not in a dormitory somewhere?"

My attention drifted to what lay at the very end of the room. Next to a bank of consoles was a roughly human sized pod standing vertical, its glass opaque and covered in dust. I crossed the room, my footsteps as loud as the thumping of my heart. One of the monitors still worked and displayed several menus and lines of codes I couldn't even begin to decipher, but the one thing I could understand was that a massive chunk of backup power had been re-routed. Not to their living quarters or their communications. It all went to whatever was inside the pod.

"They were trying to keep this alive," I drew a finger across the glass and it came away thick with dust. "Whatever it is, it was important enough for them to work on it day in and day out."

Sinon came up next to me and pointed at something on the console. Another card reader. I nodded, drew the keycard from my breast pocket, and inserted it. The keycard slid inside without resistance.

Then a beam of light shot out from the console's monitor and hit me straight in the eye. I yelped and stumbled back in surprise, but I hardly had the chance to question what just happened.

The pod began to hum with a crackling energy. Several jets of steam shot out from either side.

A robotic voice spoke through the console, "Starting Master Registration."

The mechanism keeping the pod upright shifted, bringing it down to rest on its back.

"...Registration complete," the voice said.

"Wh-what's going on?" Llenn stepped back warily and Sinon drew her glock halfway out of its holster.

The pod came to a rest on its back. I swallowed and inched up next to it just as the glass turned translucent and parted open.

A young woman was inside, dressed in a form fitting purple-on-white suit. Her hair, snow white and cut in a bob, almost reached her shoulders. With a porcelain face and flawless skin, she looked like a doll given life.

Her eyes drifted open. Deep purple irises turned and settled on me. She blinked, parted her pale lips, and asked in a mild tone, "Master?"

My breath hitched in my throat. I thought I had GGO all figured out. After playing it for months, I had a good handle on what to expect. There were no surprises or things thrown at you out of the blue. It just didn't happen to people who played the game long enough.

Yet as I looked into the woman's bright and intelligent eyes, a single thought managed to manifest itself into a word that summed up all my conflicting feelings.

"...Huh."


	15. Headhunters: Chapter 15

**Good grief, this one was an experience to write. So as I'm sure you've all noticed by now, I am going to be adding characters from SAO's gameverse into the mix sometimes, starting with our very own ArFA-Sys from Fatal Bullet. There's quite a few cool characters in the games, so I wanted to try my hand at depicting them in what would be considered the 'canon' universe. I hope it lives up to your expectations. Thanks to all you wonderful folks and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

When I first joined GGO, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Sure, I had a little bit of knowledge thanks to a gaming magazine I picked up in a convenience store one winter morning. There were guns of all kinds, players more than willing to kill you with them, and mutated, vicious monsters lurking behind every corner. A roaring good time for people into that sort of thing. So when I placed the AmuSphere on and dived into the game for myself, I didn't expect how much I'd end up taking to it. Wonder what that says about me.

I started the same way everyone else did, dressed in a drab set of military fatigues and armed with a cheap pistol barely worth the materials used to make it. I didn't expect a hot-blooded drill sergeant with an intense gaze and a chip on her shoulder to be my tutorial guide. 'Guide' being a loose term. I don't remember much of what she taught me, but I do remember the eloquent way she let me know I was gutter trash.

When I hunkered down in the remains of a ruined building with most of my new squad dead and a sniper taking potshots at me, I didn't expect to be running headfirst towards their nest in a ruined skyscraper, dodging bandits and gunshots until I was out breath and battered to hell. When I headed up the staircase to the top floor, I braced myself for the hardest fight in my life.

I didn't expect to find a teal-haired girl waiting for me. Needless to say, the fight went poorly, if it could even be called that.

Yet despite it all, after another encounter some days later, that teal-haired sniper ended up becoming my partner, trusted ally, friend, and more recently, a girl I'd become attracted to.

I didn't expect that either.

However, for all the chance meetings, surprises both nasty and welcome, and general experiences I'd come to know, one now reigned above them all, scoring a perfect ten in the 'weird, strange, and bizarre' category.

I sure as hell didn't expect an android waking up and calling me 'Master'.

I mean, who does?

The girl blinked up at me, then poked her head out of her pod. Sinon and Llenn were standing further away, their guns half drawn, but if she was surprised, she didn't show it. She climbed out of the pod with a mechanical stiffness and stood at her full height, stock still, posture rigid, face devoid of emotion.

"I am the ArFA System Type-X A290-00. Master Registration has been completed," The android turned to me. "You are my Master."

This day, man.

I scanned the room for any hidden cameras in case I was being punked or something, then tossed a glance at the two girls with me. Judging from the looks on their faces, they were just as lost as I was."That's something pretty big you just dropped into my lap. Mind explaining yourself?" I asked.

The android's blank gaze didn't waver. She didn't twitch or breathe or do any of the other little things living people do. I was starting to wonder if she even knew where she was.

"Main system fifty percent functional. Please stand by."

I sighed. She seemed fine with ignoring me until she was done doing whatever she was in the middle of, so I turned to the others and asked, "You guys ever heard of an ArFA...whatever? Cause I feel like something this weird would have been rumored about at the very least."

"You got me," Llenn said with a shrug. "I didn't even know there were NPC's outside of Glocken."

"Neither have I. This has to be something new," Sinon added. "Think about it, everything that had to do with that keycard was an unknown. Even Argo didn't know what we were getting into."

"So this quest has to be completely new. Hell, it might have been implemented in the recent update and we're just now finding it," I murmured. I froze as my mind went down that train of thought. It made sense. It made a lot of sense. The traps being removed from Arden Woods, the Wastelands becoming deadlier than ever, necessitating the need for towns like Valley Moor, the lowered drop rate on people losing their inventory upon death, it all came from the same large update installed into GGO around the time Ikuchi hired Sinon to steal the keycard.

Which meant we just stumbled upon what could very well be the first instance of some kind of support ally.

"Main system function...one hundred percent. System check clear. Startup complete," the white haired girl droned with the same lifeless voice. But no sooner did the words leave her mouth did her eyes flash with something resembling actual emotion. She put her fists on her hips and bounced once on the balls of her feet with a childlike exuberance. "I am at your disposal. Everything from combat to maintenance to managing your items and credits is well within my capabilities."

I gaped at her long enough for a stray fly to invade my mouth if it wanted. "Manage my what? Wait hold on, what exactly are you for starters?" I asked.

"I am the ArFA System Type-X A29 — "

"No, no, I got that part. I'm not asking who you are. I'm asking what you are."

The android tilted her head to one side. "What I am? Uh, I guess you can call me a highly intelligent support AI. My specific designation is Type-X. Even among the ArFA-Sys, I'm rarer than rare! You must have a crazy amount of luck to acquire me."

"You're...an AI," I said.

"Correct!"

I gawked at her, eyes wide.

Holy. Crap. An actual, honest to goodness AI. This was huge. Artificial intelligence had been making great strides in a lot of areas in the technological world. Living, thinking, feeling computer programs. The stuff of science fiction. Yet every day it came closer to reality. In fact, one of the big draws of the recently released Augma was a girl named Yuna, a popular AI idol with the looks and talent other singers would kill for. She was designed from the ground up to be perfect at her job, eliciting the admiration and loyalty of a rabid fanbase. And she was just one example.

The use of AI was only getting bigger by the day. The ArFA-Sys was a new testament to that. It's mere existence could turn the entirety of GGO on its head. It would be the biggest news in the game's history. Everyone would want one. The player-base already went nuts over newly discovered weapons or metas, but an artificial intelligence acting on your beck and call? Hardly anyone would be able to resist.

Plus she was cute. A lot of people would want her for that alone.

"It's almost too hard to believe," Sinon breathed. "I've been playing GGO for almost a year and I've never seen anything like this." Her expression suddenly hardened. "If Ikuchi found her...he could have twisted this to his advantage. He'd become famous. His name would be talked about everywhere."

"More recognition, more potential recruits. Yokai's numbers could double overnight if he spun this right. And that's not even counting what she could do personally," I jerked my chin at the android before me. "Give her enough time and experience and she may end up being a terror in her own right."

The android tilted her head the other way. "Ikuchi? Yokai? Those aren't terms I'm familiar with."

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I should get you out of here," I reached over and yanked the keycard out of the terminal. Dematerializing it into my inventory, I said, "Stay behind me and do exactly what I say, got it? We just might make it out of this alive."

"If we're leaving, then there's a certain problem we still have to deal with," Sinon said. "I never did find a way to shut off that gas flooding the facility entrance. We might be trapped in here until we do."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, we move. Fast-like," I turned and started to head back out.

When I got halfway across the room, the door to the chamber opened again and two people stood on the other side. M and Fuka. We froze and stared each other down. I squeezed my knuckles tight in apprehension. My shoulders tensed in preparation to start dodging gunfire and beside me Sinon bent her knees, her eyes narrowing into thin slits.

The silence stretched on, an everlasting eternity compressed into a couple seconds.

I expected one of us to break the ice via a kill order or with a sharp rapport of gunfire. But it ended up beings something else. Something that chilled my blood solid. The howl of a pissed off android.

Everyone looked up. The ceiling was high up and shrouded in darkness, but I could make out the slender outline of the Ruined Prototype as it crouched down on the rafters above us, its eyes piercing through with a blazing red glow so intense they left dots in my vision. Its claws dug into the metal beams underneath it and then it dropped, landing between us in the middle of the room with a heavy thump.

Llenn and Sinon raised their pistols in earnest. Fuka and M did the same with their own guns, a pair of compact machine pistols. Darn. I was starting to feel a little left out.

The ArFA-Sys gasped next to me and I sucked in a breath through my teeth. Damn it. She didn't have anything to defend herself with and I sure as hell couldn't keep an eye on her while avoiding the Prototype.

"Big sis?" she said. "Wh-what happened to you?"

It hit me all at once. I examined the Prototype more closely. The wispy, brittle strands of snow white hair, the youthful delicate features on its face, and the slender feminine body covered with a torn purple and white jumpsuit. The Ruined Prototype wasn't just a name. It was an ArFA-Sys too. An older, corrupted, beat-up one, but one nonetheless.

The Prototype turned to face her and the intense glow of its eyes dimmed down to almost nothing. The growls leaving its mangled mouth died with it, into an almost pained rumble.

It knew her. The thought raced through my mind, setting off a flash of insight. I opened my menu again and the keycard reappeared between two of my fingers. The Prototype caught sight of it and uttered a low, faint, and weary snarl.

That's what it wanted. It wasn't attacking us for the sake of it. It was protecting the ArFA-Sys, either of its own volition or as some kind of last order given by the former residents of the facility. The Prototype was just doing its job, but it'd kill us to satisfy that end.

A chime rang in my head and a new objective appeared in my vision.

 _Defeat the Ruined Prototype._

Right on cue, an alarm blared throughout the room and a synthesized robotic voice echoed through the room. "Warning: an ArFA-Sys unit has left its containment pod. Facility lockdown in effect. Please use the Admin Key to lift the lockdown once the ArFA-Sys is secured."

Fantastic. My wise gamer instincts told me I wouldn't be able to get free until the Prototype had been dealt with. One more hoop to jump.

"Hey Llenn, think you can extend our truce to your friends too?" I asked.

"I don't think I have a choice," she responded, then she shouted loud enough for the others to hear her. "Fuka, M, don't shoot them. We need to work together to take this thing down!"

"Jeez, this thing again? Talk about clingy," Fuka replied.

The Prototype didn't waste any time. It howled and threw itself upwards, latching onto the steel rafters above us before jumping off and dive-bombing me. Sinon shoved me out of the way, then turned and narrowly avoided the incoming claws herself.

I'd been thrown around enough to be ready for it. My shoulder hit the ground and I let the momentum carry me into a roll, getting back to my feet in a smooth, easy motion. The Prototype came down less than a second later, impaling its claws several inches into the metal ground. I hoped it would be enough to immobilize it for a while, but those hopes were unceremoniously dashed when it dragged its claws through the metal flooring like they were hot butter.

The Prototype pulled its claws up and out in an underhanded swing. I took two quick steps back in a dodge as Llenn and Sinon opened fired. M and Fuka, to their credit, did the same, catching the Prototype in a crossfire, forcing it on the defensive by jumping from wall to wall to avoid their fire.

The ArFA-Sys came to my side and tugged on the sleeve of my jacket. "Master, you need to get some weapons quick or you won't stand a chance against her."

"You make a compelling argument. I don't suppose you know where I can acquire such weapons?" I asked. The ArFA-Sys bobbed her head eagerly.

"I really do. The entire facility's layout has been pre-installed into my memory banks. For the violence-inclined, there's no better place to acquire firearms than the Main Security Office. The armory there is stocked to the brim with weapons, including those confiscated from prisoners," she said.

"Sounds like a nifty place to visit. If I turn you loose, can you lead me there?"

"Of course. Your orders are absolute!"

The ArFA-Sys ran for the door. I followed close behind. When we made it halfway across the room, Sinon caught up with me, firing several shots in quick succession behind her, hitting the Prototype as it jumped from rafter to rafter but not doing much more than annoying it.

"Where are you heading?" Sinon asked.

"Field trip to get my guns back. Want in?"

She shook her head. "Somebody needs to stay and keep this thing from coming after you."

"And be by yourself with Llenn and company? I thought you didn't trust them."

"I don't. All the more reason to stay behind and make sure they don't shoot you in the back either," Sinon cracked a half-smile. "They're using scavenged guns. I still have my glock. If it comes to a fight, I can take them."

Llenn got to us as we reached the door. She didn't look any worse for wear despite the fighting going on around us. "I'm coming with you. P-Chan might be in the armory too and we need all the firepower we can get."

She had a point. I could admit as much. But even still I had my reservations. If she came along there would be a non-zero chance she'd grab the weapons belonging to her pals and hand them over once we got back. She and I had a modicum of an understanding to not shoot each other. I couldn't say the same about them.

On the other hand, I needed her now more than ever. She made it perfectly clear that I wasn't what she considered trustworthy. And she'd be right. On any other day I would have given her the slip, but unusual circumstances changed the game. With an indestructible android breathing down our necks, we didn't have the luxury of choosing our allies.

In the end, I said. "Fine. But same rules as before. No funny ideas about shooting each other."

Llenn nodded her assent and the two of us were about to rush out the door when Sinon grabbed my shoulder. "Give me the keycard. If the Prototype wants it, I'm going to make sure it focuses on me instead of coming after you."

I hesitated for a second. I didn't want to put Sinon in the crosshairs like that but she knew how to take care of herself better than I did.

"Watch your back alright? Don't do anything too crazy," I said, handing the keycard to her. Sinon took it, and I didn't miss the way her fingers lingered on mine for a few seconds too long.

She gave me a fierce grin, all confidence and surety. And hell if it didn't make my heart race. "l won't. Now shut up and go make yourself useful again."

I ignored the heat climbing up my neck and joined Llenn to head out where the ArFA-Sys was waiting for us. The sounds of combat became a faraway din which eventually faded altogether by the time we turned a few corners. The ArFA-Sys skidded to a halt at an intersection, took two steps one way, hesitated, then turned the other direction.

"You do know where you're going, right?" I asked as we kept pace with her.

"Uhm. Though it is taking me some time to recall all the details, you can rest assured that eventually I will remember the Main Security Office's location with one hundred percent accuracy," she said. Llenn and I traded skeptical glances. I mouthed the word _eventually_ to her. She shrugged.

We went down a flight of stairs into what I could only assume to be the bowels of the facility where the lights were either destroyed or burnt out. Small electrical fires were burning away inside junction boxes, leaving us in a state of perpetual darkness accentuated by the odd fiery glow. A live wire dangled from the ceiling, jumping erratically from one side to the other, electricity whipping it around like a flail. I took extra caution to give it a wide berth to avoid getting zapped. Llenn walked underneath it without a care in the world.

Some people have all the luck.

The ArFA-Sys stopped in front of a sliding door that was halfway open. She pulled on it to make the gap wider, but it wouldn't budge. She huffed, turned sideways, and squeezed through the gap. When Llenn and I followed her, we found ourselves in the kind of room claustrophobics have nightmares about. The top of my hair brushed along the low moldy ceiling as we walked. The walls were oppressively closed in and the metal shelvings filled with various metal parts and jerry cans reeking of gasoline made the already cramped room even more suffocating.

"Master, you haven't given me a name yet. The shorter, the better," The ArFA-Sys said suddenly.

"Uh, I have to name you? Don't you already have one?"

"It is the responsibility of the master to give his ArFA-Sys a name. But I have to warn you, if you call me anything weird, I'll explode."

"Yeah, that would be unfortunate," I said while stepping over a puddle of oil. I thought on it for a moment, then looked over to Llenn and said, "Got any ideas?"

She furrowed her brow, "Why are you asking me?"

"I'm open to suggestions."

For a moment, the only sound filling the room was the scrape of our boots against the concrete floor. Once we reached the end of the room with an open doorway, Llenn pinched her little chin between two fingers and said, "I like the name Rei. How about that?"

"Rei, huh?" I glanced at the ArFA-Sys leading us. She stopped and turned to face me, eyes shining with a pleasant smile on her face. I couldn't help myself. I smiled back. "Yeah, it suits you."

Rei the ArFA-Sys placed both fists against her chest and hopped in place with mirthful enthusiasm, like a child being given her Christmas presents. It was a stark contrast to the bland and dead demeanor she had when she had awoken. And dare I say, it made her a bit endearing.

After her bout of celebration, Rei turned and opened the simple metal door behind her. On the other side was less a room and more of a closet with a ladder bolted to the wall, which she wasted no time climbing up. Llenn followed after her. I checked our back in the meantime, past the half open door.

Ten seconds of nothing passed. I released the breath I was holding and started climbing the ladder. It was a shorter trip than I thought, about a dozen feet or so, and once I reached the top, I found myself climbing out of a hatch hidden in the floor of a moderately sized room with a large metal table at the center, empty gun racks lining the walls, and several footlockers lying between them. Off in the corner was a door barricaded by

"Is this where our guns are?" I asked.

"Correct. This is the back room of the Main Security Office, where weapons are kept, maintained, and accounted for. Your missing weapons have to be here. Honest," Rei said. She picked up one of the footlockers, which was impressive to say the least, considering it was more than half her height, and dropped it on the table in the center of the room. "We just have to look. I'm sure we'll find them in no time."

I joined Rei as she flipped the footlocker open. I almost laughed when I checked inside. My sawed-off laid at the bottom with the ammo belt tucked next to it, shells still in place. I took both out, broke the shotgun open to make sure it was loaded, and started putting everything on. "Feels good to have some metal on me again. Thanks, Rei."

"I'm an ArFA-Sys of my word," she beamed at me. I buckled the gun belt and adjusted the sawed-off so that it rested against my stomach for easy access and shut the footlocker. After being unarmed for so long, the weight saddling my holster felt reassuring. I had a means to defend myself now and it was a hell of an upgrade compared to how I'd been half an hour ago. Now I could deal some real damage. I am man; hear me roar.

In the far left corner, Llenn let out a heavy sigh laden with relief. She reached into the footlocker she was kneeling over and pulled out her hot pink P90, cradling it like a precious thing, even going so far as to nuzzle her cheek against it. "It's okay, P-Chan. Oh I'm so happy you're alright. We're going to protect each other better from now on. That's a promise."

There are people who get attached their tools, their cars, even their Roombas, but yeesh. Llenn was getting to another level.

"That little girl really loves her gun. Is she okay?" Rei said.

"Her name's Llenn. She's got...weird tastes," I said.

"Confirmed. Llenn is...wack."

A few minutes later, we raided every locker in the room and scrapped together every loose bullet we could find, including my MP7 and the ammo I still had left for it. My fears ended up being realized when Llenn discovered M's rifle and Fuka's grenade launchers inside one of them. She assured me they wouldn't kill me the first chance they got, but I believed that about as much as I believed Argo doing charity work one day. I needed to keep my eyes peeled when we got back. I'd live longer. Hopefully.

I checked my MP7 and frowned. Handing over all my pistol ammo to Sinon left me with it and the sawed-off as my sole means of defense and as much as I would've liked to keep both, it wasn't tactically sound. I turned to Rei and held out the submachine gun to her. "Here. Take it. You need to defend yourself just as much as I do right now."

Rei leaned back a little, blinking several times. Then she gingerly took the offered weapon. "Are you sure? Your combat efficiency is going to be diminished without it."

"Yeah, but yours goes up. That's a trade-off I'm willing to take," I said with an encouraging smile, though I neglected to tell her that I also needed an extra gunner at my side in case the truce with Llenn went south. On top of that, I needed to get a good idea of what Rei was capable of when it came down to a firefight. If she was going to be a support android for me, I needed to learn all I could about her, which meant sacrificing my MP7 for the time being.

Efficiency Shmefficiency. Try saying that five times fast.

Rei's expression lit up and she adjusted her hold so that she properly carried the gun in her hands. "Understood. I won't disappoint you."

The three of us reconvened over the ladder we used to enter the armory. I went back down first, and when I reached the bottom I headed for the door on the other side of the cramped room.

It opened before I reached it. To be more precise, it was _forced_ open. A robotic hand pushed the sliding door to the side with enough force to crush it together like an accordian. Metal wrenched and shrieked — bending in ways it was never meant to.

Three security bots like the one that guarded my cell stormed in. They fanned out in a loose formation with electric batons in hand and despite their lack of human features, I could tell they weren't going to be shy about using them.

"Boy, it's getting awfully crowded in here," I said. Behind me I heard Llenn's boots hit the ground. Rei's followed immediately after.

"Why can't these things ever be easy?" Llenn muttered under her breath.

"Wouldn't want to bore you with a simple walk back, right?" I said. The robot farthest to the left stepped forward and in a flash I drew the sawed-off shotgun and aimed it squarely at its chest.

But my threat didn't deter it. If anything, it accomplished the complete opposite as the robot broke into a sprint, charging me with reckless abandon, baton held out to the side and poised to strike.

"If that's how you want it," I hissed. I adjusted my aim, pulled the trigger, and at the last possible moment, my heart lurched and I jerked my hand up, firing into the ceiling. The shotgun belched and the recoil kicked back hard. Shards of concrete rained down onto the floor. I nearly killed us all.

The trap was almost ingenious. A cramped room, a few melee enemies to rush in and put pressure on us. Anyone would have fired without a second thought. And the second they did, the gas cans and oil containers stored in the shelves along the walls would punish them for even a single missed shot. Or a gun with the kind of spread my sawed-off had.

The room was a fireball waiting to happen. And I nearly made it happen.

I grit my teeth. The robot closed the distance and swung its baton in a wide arch.

There were a great many things I learned in my time playing VRMMO's. Skills I acquired over an extended period of time. I'm not talking about the ones in-game either. Play anything, do anything long enough, and you start getting good at it. Practice even more and you start developing an affinity for certain styles. Llenn not only learned how to fire a gun, she learned how to couple it with her incredible speed, turning into a ludicrous nightmare unlike anything GGO's ever seen. Sinon learned how to handle a sniper rifle meant to destroy tanks and in the process, became accurate enough to hit a target three thousand meters away. Her style also made her a force to be reckoned with. She was still feared and respected as the top sniper in the game.

I couldn't run-and-gun or be accurate enough to shoot a pinhead from a mile away. But the one thing I did know, above all else, was how to survive a close quarters scrap.

I crouched low, extremely low, and dove forward with a defiant yell. The baton swept over my head and I drove my shoulder into the robot's stomach in a linebacker's tackle, throwing all my weight at a single point and taking its feet out from under it. We fell to the ground in a tangle. I grabbed the robot by the chassis and it dropped its baton, clawing at my arm to free itself

It didn't get far. I emptied the sawed-off's other barrel point blank into its head. The shell pulverized its head, reduced it to nothing but a ragged stump pouring black fluid from its neck. The floor underneath it didn't fare much better, but we were alive and more importantly, not on fire.

Damn, I'm good.

"Watch where you shoot," I told Llenn and Rei. "This place is gonna go up in flames if you miss."

The last two robots rushed us. I grabbed the dropped baton of the one I killed and faced them head on. One gave me as wide a berth as it could given the confined room we were in. The other gunned for me and thrusted its baton. I leaned to the left, felt the buzz of electricity touch my face, then jabbed my own stun stick into the bot's armpit. It stumbled, careened into a wall, and crashed into the shelving, knocking jerry cans to the ground, spilling gasoline in a large puddle. I looked back at Rei and waved a hand towards the door, giving her a signal to run. She did so gladly.

The pungent odor of gasoline wafted into the air as the security robot picked itself up and tried for more swings, but they were slow and clumsy, putting too much weight behind each one and sabotaging its own balance. I kept the distance between us, spotted an opening as it missed again and swung my baton at its head. The blow made a satisfying crunch. The robot's internal circuits popped and crackled from the surge of electricity entering its body and it suddenly went stiff, wisps of smoke pouring out from its joints. I grabbed the robot by the head and shoved it back out into the hall. It hit the wall opposite the door and collapsed to the ground, sparking, twitching, and burning. It tried to rise again, but Rei suddenly appeared next to it and put two bullets straight into its head, shutting it down for good, it's body disintegrating into pixels.

I rushed outside. Llenn kited the other robot around the room and by the time she reached the hallway with us, the robot was hot on her heels.

Llenn raised her P90. No deliberation. No fanfare. Not even a witty one-liner. All she made was a single pull of the trigger.

In real life, gas tanks don't go up in a fantastical explosion when you shoot them. There just isn't enough heat — and the bullet doesn't have enough of a surface area to diffuse it. It's a hallmark effect in movies, and looks cool as hell, but ultimately real life had a set of rules the world had to follow. Fortunately, this was a video game. Real world rules need not apply.

That sucker went up like a Christmas tree.

The shockwave was the first thing to hit us. I wrapped my arms around Rei's waist from behind to push her aside and as I turned to run. I only managed a few feet before an invisible battering ram hit me square in the spine. Mini aftershocks erupted over my back and fingers of pure fire and heat clawed at my exposed skin. Even still, I held onto Rei, doing my best to shield her from the worst of it.

The invisible force was enough to stumble us, but somehow we managed to stay on our feet. The explosion ended as quickly as it began and when I looked back, the entire room was engulfed in flames. The last security robot was lying halfway into the hall, it's lower body consumed by rapidly growing flames and billowing smoke before it disappeared in a shower of pixels

Llenn ambled up next to us. I glanced at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Nice shot."

She shrugged with a little smile, soot covering one cheek. "It wasn't all that hard to miss."

I holstered my shotgun and told Rei to lead us back to the others, letting her take the lead while Llenn and I stayed a step behind to check our corners for any more nasty surprises. We took a few twists and turns without much in the way of resistance, and after the third pass through an intersection, I allowed myself a slight moment to relax.

We were almost there. One last push was all we needed. But there was still something I needed to take care of before I could start breathing easy again. Specifically, the girl running alongside me. I didn't know Llenn personally. She was a top contender in past Squad Jams, winning one and almost doing the same on another, but she was still something of an enigma. At the very least, what few interactions we had gave me some semblance of who she was. Careful, empathetic, maybe even friendly if our situation had been different.

My gut told me she was good people. I chose to trust it.

"Ikuchi's sister asked me to stop him," I blurted out. Perhaps it was my own imagination, but I swear I saw Llenn stumble for the briefest of seconds. If she did, she recovered quick.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked.

"She's the one who told me all about how dire his situation's gotten. She told me how closed off he was getting in the real world and how worried she became when he wouldn't talk to anyone," I turned my head just enough to see her. "He's an SAO survivor and it's been weighing on him ever since he left."

Llenn faced ahead. "And she wanted you to help him? Even though he's technically you're enemy?"

"Yeah. Look, I don't particularly like the guy but if he's an SAO survivor then I have to do something to help him out."

"Why?"

My lips curled into a grimace as I shook my head. "Because that game's caused enough suffering already."

I felt Llenn's eyes on me when I looked away, but I didn't say anything more.

We got back to the others in record time now that Rei wasn't constantly changing directions on us. The constant sound of gunfire also helped. When we raced inside the boss chamber, the Prototype was crawling upside down on the lightless ceiling, its form visible by the glow of the blue-white fire leaking from its chest, growling in what I assumed to be frustration while blue fluid dribbled out of its mouth. It'd been hurt bad, but judging from the exhausted breathing of the others and the way it effortlessly jumped from rafter to rafter, it was still in fighting condition.

"M, Fuka, I got them!" M's gun, a rifle bigger than Llenn was tall, materialized in her hands as she ran to join them. I broke off to meet Sinon where she was taking cover behind a storage crate on the opposite side of the room.

"Miss me?" I asked, keeling down next to her.

"Who are you?" she replied.

"Wow, okay we're going there," I broke the sawed-off and inserted a pair of fresh shells. Sinon offered me a faint smile then jerked her head at the ceiling.

"It's not slowing down no matter how many bullets we put into it," she said. "It's health bar hasn't moved an inch either."

"That was pretty much my experience back when Argo and I fought it. Hell, the best we could do was stun it for a little bit."

"Did it fall over with fire coming out of its chest?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Sinon stood up and sent a few rounds towards the ceiling, ducking down again when they missed their mark. "It's done that a few times now. We tried to push the advantage, but it didn't seem to have any effect."

I frowned when Sinon stood up. Three red claw marks stretched across her back. She saw me notice and when I didn't immediately reply, she said, "I'm fine. It just caught me by surprise."

"Right, ok. So we need a plan of action. Any ideas?" I asked.

Rei, kneeling down with us, raised her hand. "Older ArFA-Sys models overheat when using a repair protocol to undo damage," She said, clutching my MP7 closer to her chest, "It has to engage the protocol to survive, but it can't move during its duration. It was deemed too much of a burden and was removed for Type-X's, but it's still inside the older models. Can you force it to do it again, please? I can do something to turn the tables."

"You sure? That thing isn't a pushover," I said.

"I'm fully prepared to take that risk. It's my duty as your ArFA-Sys."

I gave her a leveled look and nodded, "Alright. If you pull this off, you're getting a reward. Whatever you want."

"My master's praise is reward enough but a milkshake would be very much appreciated."

Sinon pulled the keycard out from one of the pockets on her jacket and held it out to me, "Don't get yourself killed, alright?"

"Who, me? Never."

I took the card from her and marched to the center of the room, sawed-off grasped firmly in one hand, my face set in a determined scowl. "Llenn, throw everything you have at it. We're ending this now."

I stopped in the center of the room, among the sleeping bags tossed aside and torn to shreds, where trash and food tins lay at my feet, remnants of lives lost and forgotten. I watched the darkness above, taking steady breaths, steeling my nerves for whatever came next

All the chasing and fighting, the killing and stalking, I went through more in a few months than I've had in a long time just for a piece of plastic that never had anything to do with me. And I'd gone through an awful lot of trouble just to keep my head attached to my body since then. If some decrepit old android was going to get in my way on the home stretch, then it'd go down like everything else.

The Prototype landed on all fours several meters away from me. I met its vengeful gaze, my expression unyielding, and held the keycard out in front of me. "This what you want?"

Silence. Heavy, deafening silence.

I slid the keycard into my breast pocket and spoke in a clear, quiet voice, "Come and take it then."

The Prototype snarled like a rabid beast, then jumped back and launched itself up towards the rafters. I was faster. I raised my sawed-off and let loose a rain of pellets, catching it on its upper thighs and taking its legs out from under it. The Prototype slammed into the ground belly first and I unloaded the other barrel straight at its face, its head jerking to one side at a sickening angle, fluid splattering on the ground in a shower of mechanical gore. On anything else, that would have been the end of it, but the Prototype merely roared in outrage, it's head still intact.

On that signal, everyone else in the room unloaded on it. The air quickly turned hot and filled with the cacophonous peal of several guns firing at once. The Prototype took a lot of hits, but it recovered quick and got to its feet in the time it took me to reload.

Evidently, it knew it had no chance at a frontal assault. The ruined android started bouncing from surface to surface. It stopped for the briefest of seconds to lunge at Llenn, but the girl's reflexes were nothing to sneeze at. Her short stature lent itself well to ducking and dodging the Prototype's swipes, and she countered by spraying her P90's magazine into its body.

Seeing it wasn't getting anywhere, the Prototype launched itself into another frenzied leap-a-thon. Sinon and M tried their best to lead their shots — and got a few good hits in — but it wasn't slowing down. It's movements were too unpredictable, too sudden to score a debilitating hit. It disappeared into the ceiling again and I cursed under my breath.

"Outta the way boys and girls. Rightony and Leftania have something to prove!" Fuka raised her twin grenade launchers and shouted with palpable glee as they went off with a hollow thunk. The whole room shook and I stumbled for a brief moment, barely managing to catch myself on a nearby wall.

I heard a high-pitched gurgling noise and a crash followed not long after. The Prototype had fallen from the ceiling and was on its back in the middle of the room, the same fire from before burning in its chest.

It was our chance. I took it. "Rei, go!"

Rei got out of cover, dropped to her knees next to the Prototype, and shoved both hands into its open chest. Sparks showered out of its gaping chest cavity. Blue-white fire crawled up Rei's arms as she pushed them in deeper, almost up to her elbows, then she jerked them to the side like she was turning a wheel. The Prototype howled. It thrashed and cried in a way that I could only describe as intense pain. Its back arched up off the ground and Rei wrenched her arms free. I winced. In her hands was a wet, translucent sac, pulsing and beating like a human heart.

The ruined android wailed, crossing its arms over its chest and kicking its legs like it was trying to scramble away. Rei dropped the sac and backpedaled away as it did. I watched it carefully, chest tight with anticipation.

The Prototype's health bar flashed and I heard glass shattering in my ears, so clear that it had to have come from the game itself. The skull next to its name disappeared.

On a whim, I lifted my sawed-off and fired again.

The Prototype flinched. It's health dropped. At long range it didn't do much, but it didn't matter. It was taking damage. It was vulnerable. Hello, straight fight.

"Mission complete! My sabotage efforts were successful," Rei shouted. I replaced the spent shell with a new one and resisted the urge to laugh maniacally. Barely.

"Good stuff, Rei. Everyone lay into it," I shouted. Two quick shots from my sawed-off punctuated the command. Gunfire erupted from either side of me. The Prototype rolled to its feet and tried to dodge the onslaught, but Llenn — a pink blur and moving like hell on wheels — dashed in from one side of the room, staying right on top of it and shooting without end. Sinon and Rei joined in the assault. M took a step away and took careful, precise shots with his rifle. Everytime the Prototype gained a significant distance from us, Fuka would let loose a small volley of explosives.

We forced it on the defensive, whittling away its health until it fell into the yellow. It barely had a chance to breathe let alone initiate a counterattack. Every precious moment was spent dodging, rolling, or jumping. It may have been fast and strong and vicious, but that didn't mean a thing in a numbers game.

I sprinted forward as it stopped in front of the pod Rei climbed out of and fired one of the barrels. The Prototype threw its arms up to shield its face, stopping the brunt of the damage from hitting something vital, then thrusted its claws at me once I came close. I wasn't stupid, despite what some of my past actions may say, and was fully prepared for a retaliatory strike. I dropped to the ground in a slide, slid right underneath the Prototype's arm, and fired the second barrel straight up as I went by. The spread of the pellets did their work, eviscerating its armpit, chest, neck and face in one fell swoop.

It gave a furious wail and it jumped up and latched itself on the wall the ArFA-Sys pod was connected to. It watched all of us with a murderous fury, snarled, dropped behind the ArFA-Sys pod, and tore it off the machinery holding it with a terrible wrenching sound. I quickly retreated to the other side of the room whilst reloading and felt the color drain from my face as the Prototype lifted a pod the size of a small car over its head and hurled it straight at me.

I resisted the temptation to curl into a ball long enough to dive out of its way. A slight rush of air was followed by a ear-shattering crash accompanied by an extinction level earthquake that rattled me hard enough to make my teeth tremble. The pod crashed against both the only door out and the wall next to it, rolling on the floor a few times before ultimately coming still. I got my feet under me, a miracle considering my legs were shaking, and faced the Prototype again just in time to see it land in front of me to swing both claws down on my head. I closed my eyes, bracing for the worst.

Metal groaned and I heard a soft grunt of effort coming from in front of me. I opened my eyes. Sinon was standing in front of me, holding Hecate in both hands and using its bulky size to keep the claws at bay, sparks and ugly noises coming from the rifle's body.

"Don't just stare," Sinon said through gritted teeth.

I raised the sawed-off and shouted, "Get clear!"

She grunted, then planted her feet firmly onto the ground for the leverage she needed to push the Prototype away. Sinon didn't exactly look it, but she was stronger than most folks I knew. She had to be, on account of having to carry her behemoth of a sniper rifle. A point she demonstrated admirably by shoving the Prototype away like it wasn't twice her size.

Sinon moved aside and I pulled the trigger, sending another gout of pellets downrange. Sinon raised her glock and let loose her own volley of lead. The Prototype's body was shredded, the combined gunfire from Sinon and I tearing hand-sized holes into its body and spraying more fluid from its back. Its cries turned into synthetic whimpers that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was hurting. Badly.

It tried leaping into the rafters again but Fuka fired a grenade up after it, the explosion erupting just a dozen feet away from it. The blast threw the Prototype back down to the ground with bone-crushing force and sent it in a savage roll that ended at my feet. It looked up at me, quiet. It tried to raise a claw, but its joints spastic and slow. Sparks flew from the myriad of holes in it and blue blood leaked from its corpse, forming a small pool underneath it.

I emptied both barrels into its open chest. It stopped moving. It didn't even twitch.

I watched it die, a swirl of emotions vying for control. Triumph, apprehension, some anger, a bit of satisfaction, but the one that caught my attention most was pity.

It looked too much like Rei.

Time and harsh conditions had clearly taken its toll. Its eyes were sunken and its features were weathered. Its open chest and missing jaw spoke volumes about the damage it endured. But the body shape — the soft, feminine contours of its face, even the purple and white jumpsuit it wore, was all the spitting image of her. I heard footsteps coming and looked up. Rei approached me, and the juxtaposition between her and the dead android made it all the more surreal.

"Does it bother you?" I asked when she got close.

Rei blinked. Her gaze shifted from me to the Prototype. She hesitated for a split second then shook her head with a reassuring smile, "As your ArFA-Sys, I'll support you in whatever you do. Don't worry, master. You'll never do wrong in my eyes."

"That so," I said, more a statement than a question.

"You should check its body. It must have what you need to lift the lockdown on my pod terminal," she said.

I knelt down over the Prototype's corpse. Funny enough, it didn't disappear into pixels like everything else did. I couldn't help but wonder if it was intentional. To give us a good look at what it was and what it used to be. I shook the thought out of my head and swiped my fingers in front of me to open its menu. There wasn't much. In fact, there was only one item it had on it, a plain silver key labeled 'Facility Admin Privileges'. I took it, materialized it in my hand, and walked over to the console next to where the ArFA-Sys pod used to be. I inserted it into a little keyhole next to the display monitor and the console chimed.

"Lockdown lifted. Facility exits are now unlocked," the same robotic voice from before said.

I walked back to join Sinon and Rei. "Okay, so I'm of the opinion that we should scram before we tempt fate anymore by sticking around here."

"About that," Sinon said. "The entrance is still flooded with knockout gas. I couldn't find a way to shut it off."

"So we're stuck here?" Llenn asked as she approached with her group.

"For the time being, yes. I'm sure we'll find the solution if we search diligently enough," Sinon said.

"Maybe we won't have to," I addressed Rei with a slight glance. "You seem to know this facility the best. Anyway we can shut down that gas and get out of here?"

Rei nodded. "The Anti-Belligerence Gas is controlled from the security checkpoint near the entrance. I can take you there if you'd like."

"Yes, please," I said, and followed Rei as she lead us through the winding hallways. A few stray security robots tried to stop us, but with so many of us walking together, they didn't last long. On the way, I kept throwing quick sidelong glances at Llenn's party. For all intents and purposes, the truce was nearing its end. The main threat was gone and once we switched off the gas, our exit would be cleared. There was nothing to stop them from killing us now, and given that Llenn knew I had a very valuable android at my command, they had plenty of motivation to do so. Which left us with the fifteen million credit question, who shoots first?

I didn't want to think about it. I hoped that our few chats together would sway Llenn in brokering peace with us. But it was still something I had to consider.

I slowed down my pace so that Sinon could catch up with me. I stayed at her side and inserted fresh shells into my shotgun, but before I could say anything, she whispered, "You're expecting trouble."

"Something like that," I flicked the shotgun closed and kept it at my side in a loose grip. "Got a contingency plan in case this all goes to hell?"

"It's hard to plan for something if we have no idea when it will happen, if at all," she said. "I know you won't like it, but it's probably better if we just end this ourselves before they have the opportunity."

I grunted in response. Rei brought us to a door that opened without any fuss and we filed inside with Sinon and I bringing up the rear.

Two office desks were propped against the left side of the room, binders and scattered bits of loose leaf paper covering their surfaces. Someone thousands of years ago even spilled their coffee cup on one of them. The right hand wall had empty weapon lockers and a row of defunct camera monitors. But the thing that stood out to me the most was the three windows on the left side of the room, above the cluttered desks. On the other side of them was the facility's entrance hallway, still flooded with thick purple gas. I could just barely see the vent Sinon used to crawl to safety.

"Those windows were mirrors when we were in that hallway, right?" Llenn asked.

"Yeah. Looks like they were one-way. Guess that's how they kept an eye on who's coming and going," I said. "So Rei, how do we clear all this up?"

Rei pointed at the wall on the opposite side of the room. A kind of strange metal contraption took up most of its space. It looked like the inside of an engine block blown up three or four times its size, all pumps and pistons and hoses running from one end to another. On either side of the mystery machine was a mounted rack housing dozens of glass canisters about the size of a two liter soda bottle. I crossed the room to get a closer look. Each one was filled with a dark, powdery substance, and I was reminded of the trail of similar material in the cave that hid the facility's entrance.

"This is the dispersal unit. Simply remove the canister currently being used from the receptacle and I will vent the hallway. We'll be out in a jiffy," Rei said. I did as she said and grabbed a half-full canister that was sticking out from the middle of the dispersal unit. After giving it a twist and a pull, it came off with a slight hiss. Pressurized containers. Interesting.

Rei used a small terminal next to me and with a few taps of the keys, a dull mechanical drone hummed to life. Peering through the window, the smoke started the recede. The way became clear.

"Alright, we're golden," I said. "Let's get out of here, I've had enough of this place." I turned around, feeling pretty pleased with myself, then promptly let those feelings fly out the window.

M stood at the door with his rifle leveled at my head. His eyes were difficult to see under the shadow of his boonie hat, "I'm sorry, but we cannot allow you to leave here alive."

"Of course you couldn't," I said with a weary sigh. "Let me guess, you want the keycard, the ArFA-Sys, and a pat on the head from Pitohui for being such a gosh darn good boy."

M's mouth twisted into a wry smile at the remark. "We came here to do a job. I'm going to see it through. Llenn, Fuka."

Fuka shrugged and pointed the business ends of her launchers at us, "Sorry guys. Gotta do what we gotta do. But it's be fun, though. Really!"

I watched Llenn, silently pleading with her. She looked between us and her companions, uncertain, hesitant. Then my heart sank when she raised her P90, the bullet line appearing on my chest. At that short a range with no room to move, she'd kill us in less than a second and there'd be damn little I could do about it.

"M, you have to listen to me, man. Killing us and completing that bounty is going to cause a lot of people to get hurt. We can't let that happen. We can't let Rei fall into the wrong hands. This is bigger than all of us," I said.

Rei crossed her arms into a tight knot. "That's right. I thought we were friends, Mr. Big Man," she protested. "I'm not going with you. I belong with my master and that will never change."

Llenn frowned. She turned her head just enough so that M and I were both in her line of sight.

"Um, M?" she said quietly. "It might not be as simple as we thought."

He didn't say anything. Llenn took it as a sign to continue. "I mean, this whole thing kind of smells, doesn't it? Maybe he does deserve to get shot. Maybe he doesn't. But I think he's right. I get the feeling that this bounty might not be as straightforward as we thought it would be."

"Straightforward or not, Pito entrusted us to do this with her. Even if she's not here, our obligation hasn't changed," M said.

Fuka shifted in place, then said, "Hey Llenn, something the matter? You're usually more gung ho about this."

"Well, yeah, but…"

My mind started working again at a furious pace. Time was running out. They'd only stall each other for so long and if I didn't think of something soon, I'd be filled with more holes than the Prototype was. I stood absolutely still, not daring to make any sudden movements. Thinking, hoping. I stayed put for so long that my arms were starting to hurt from holding the canister in my hands.

Then it hit me. An idea sprouted and I let it take shape. It was risky, liable to get me killed but to hell with it. I'd take a risky plan over no plan at all.

I glanced at Sinon out of the corner of my eye while Llenn's posse was busy debating amongst themselves. When she noticed me, I tapped two fingers against the glass canister in my hands. Her face remained utterly neutral and if it were anyone else, I'd have been worried they didn't catch on, but I had faith in her. She knew what to do.

I took a slow, deep breath and sharpened my focus to a razor fine point. Then without an ounce of hesitation, I threw the canister as hard as I could, hurtling it straight at M. His eyes widened. My body tensed and I prepared myself to feel the sting of a bullet hitting my face. Then I saw the hesitation cross his features. He aimed his rifle at me, stopped as the canister came closer to his face, then awkwardly slung his weapon aside to catch it. It cost him precious time.

Sinon drew her glock in the blink of an eye. The gun barked once and the canister exploded, sending a deadly hail of shattered glass in every direction. I shielded my face with my arms and felt jagged pieces of glass slicing shallow cuts into the exposed skin of my forearms. The dust inside the canister erupted into a thick cloud of familiar purple smoke.

I grabbed Rei's wrist and hauled her along as Sinon and I charged forward. M and the others were too preoccupied avoiding the gas to do anything to stop us. I held my breath, charged through the purple cloud to the other end, and out into the hallway. Sinon swervered right and I followed after her, the confused shouts behind us turning into sharp orders.

It didn't take long for us to come to another bulkhead door. Sinon slapped a nearby panel to open it and squeezed through once there was enough space. I came close behind, pumping my legs as fast as they could carry me while I dragged poor Rei along with so much force that somewhere in the back of my mind I was worried about pulling her arm out of its socket.

We raced down the length of the mirrored corridor and straight into the waiting cave. I tripped over a loose scattering of stones, but managed to catch myself before I fell over and brought Rei along with me. Sinon raced towards the dying glow of sunlight at the mouth of the cave and I made a final sprint to catch up with her.

Hard stone turned into malleable sand. We made it out into the small canyon and I never thought I'd be so relieved to breathe in virtual fresh air with the evening sun's warmth settling over me. We made it out. We were free. It was a comfort. But a fleeting one.

Llenn appeared before us. There was no warning to it. She fired and so much happened at once I couldn't even begin to react to it quickly enough. A weight slammed hard into my stomach, stopping me dead in my tracks and throwing me to the ground. The sudden impact knocked the air out of my lungs and I instinctively tightened my grip on Rei's wrist, forcing a shocked cry from her as I dragged her down with me. Off in the distance, M shouted something I couldn't hear over the bandsaw-like rapport of Llenn's P90.

Then something else came. Sand showered over me, and amidst the shouting and gunfire I heard three sharp beeps all at once. A blast rocked my entire world, shaking me like thunder and hitting me like lightning, drowning my senses in too much light and too much noise.

It felt like an eternity. I didn't know how much time had passed, but little by little my senses returned. Everything that receded came rushing back at me like a tidal wave. My vision bled back and I found myself staring up at the orange sky, blinking away the colored dots that had formed.

"Well, well, well, ain't this a surprise?"

I lifted me head to see where the nasally voice had come from.

Argo sauntered towards us with her shotgun resting comfortably against her shoulder. "Coming in at the nick of time just when all hope seems lost. Like somethin' straight out of a fairytale. What do ya think that make us?"

A shadow fell over me and Noya, still dressed in his all-black gear with red goggles, his MP5 resting against his hip, gave me a curt nod and said, "The knights in shining armor, boss."

Argo crinkled her nose, smirking. "Here to save our damsels in distress."

I huffed and collapsed my head back into the sand. My throat felt as dry as the desert surrounding us. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, after we got killed oh so suddenly, Noya and I figured we'd hightail back over here. Wasn't like we didn't know where you were goin'. We found the secret entrance but it was shut tight so we assumed you were already in there. So it was just a matter of settin' up some concussion mines for remote detonation and waitin' until you or those bounty hunters popped up again," Argo scanned the area around us. "Or in this case, the both of ya."

I forced myself up into a sitting position, ignoring the dull throbbing pounding against my skull. Llenn was sprawled on the ground in front of me, her cap gone as she clutched fistfuls of her hair, rolling from side to side and muttering under her breath.

"You guys killed them?" I looked over my shoulder. Noya was fixing the straps on his combat harness and casted me a small glance. M and Fuka were nowhere to be seen.

"Eeyup. Payback for gettin' the drop on us last time. This one too, right?" Argo kicked the pink P90 away and pointed at Llenn's head. I threw my open hand up at her.

"Wait, wait. Leave her. I owe her that much. Just take her ammo and her knife," I said. Argo raised a brow.

"Ya serious? Not her gun?"

"Believe me, that's the last thing I want to take from her."

Argo shrugged and started relieving Llenn's gun of its ammo when someone next to me stirred. Sinon sat up, rubbing both her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. Despite being covered in sand again, she didn't look any worse for wear.

I tapped her arm to catch her attention and said, "You still with us?"

She opened her eyes and wiped bits of sand from her face. "I'll live. How's the ArFA-Sys?"

I noticed Rei getting to her feet a few meters away, ruffling her fingers through her hair. "No worse for wear."

"Good. I didn't tackle you too hard, did I?" Sinon asked.

"Nah. At this point I'm used to you manhandling me," I said. Sinon punched me in the arm.

"Don't make it sound weird."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

A soft groan drew my attention to Llenn. She rolled onto her side, she moaned again, but it was more out of annoyance than anything resembling pain. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

Her big brown eyes flickered open, saw me sitting in front of her, then grew as wide as dinner plates when the reality of the situation fell on her. "Wh-where's…?"

"Dead. The both of them," I scratched the back of my head. "So I guess that means you're the one outnumbered now."

She took in everyone around her and slowly brought herself into a sitting position, hunching her shoulders like she was expecting to be shot at any moment. I kept my face blank, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't empathize. Usually I would be the one in her situation. It was strange being on the other side of it for once.

"So...what happens now?" she asked. I paused to gather my thoughts.

"If you give your word to not come after us, I'm willing to let you go. We'll go our separate ways and you can keep your gun," I said.

"Just like that?" she asked.

"Yeah. I don't want to fight you. Besides, I owe you for not killing me when you had plenty of chances to," I narrowed my eyes. It didn't occur to me until now, but something about the way things ended didn't sit right with me. "Like earlier. There's no way you missed every single shot at such a short range, even if Sinon tackled me to the ground. I mean, you got a few good hits in the first time we fought, but now? Seems suspicious."

Llenn's eyebrows lifted. "Ah. Maybe you're right."

"Care to explain yourself?"

Llenn rubbed the back of her head. "Well, you see, the more I thought about everything you said, the more I started to realize something."

"What would that be?"

"Either you were lying this whole time about Ikuchi to get me on your side or you weren't and you really are trying to stop him from becoming something terrible. The way I see it, I'd rather misplace my trust and let you go than have someone potentially get hurt," Llenn bowed her head slightly. "Pito is obsessed with SAO. Not as much as before, but I still worry about her sometimes. If Ikuchi is anything like that, then I can't risk it. I'd never forgive myself. So I'll let you do what you have to. I won't get in your way."

I exhaled through my nose. A grateful smile appeared on my face. "Thank you. Sincerely. You have no idea how much this is going to help."

Llenn nodded then cautiously rose to her feet. Once she was sure none of us would do her any harm, she picked her cap off the ground, gave it a few shakes to get the sand out of it, then put it back on. "I'll tell the others I escaped when those mines went off. I never saw where you went and I couldn't track you down."

I nodded and stood up. After helping Sinon to do the same, I grabbed Llenn's P90 and held it out to her. "That sounds like a plan."

She took it with a silent nod of thanks along with the ammo Argo had taken from her.

"Good luck with Ikuchi. And I know it may not be much, but when you find him and try to...do whatever it is you plan to do. Tell him that he isn't the only one still dealing with SAO," she said.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be sure to tell him that."

And with that, Llenn turned away and broke into a light jog, going faster until she sped up into a blur and disappeared from sight.

Argo waited a few seconds in deep silence then turned to face us. More specifically at Rei, raising a finger with a perplexed expression, "Okay, who is that and what the heck happened while we were gone?"

The android put her fists on her hips, puffed her chest out, and said, "I am the ArFA System Type-X A290-00. From now on, I'll be supporting my master with dignity, proficiency, and cute-ficiency."

Argo blinked and I could practically see the gears turning in her head. She turned to me and muttered, "You're explainin' this one. All of it."

"I will. Later. Right now I just want to get back to Glocken before anything bad happens," I said.

I felt a hard poke on my lower back. Sinon walked a few paces ahead, hands behind her back, looking over her shoulder at me with eyes full of mirth.

"I think it's too late for that," she said. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I worked my lips silently, then shrugged.

"Don't think so."

"Llenn betrayed us back there. You know what that means? I was right and you were wrong, and I seem to remember you saying that I could rub it in your face for the rest of our lives. Something about handing out pamphlets too?" Sinon's smile morphed into a catlike grin.

I blanched. "Woah hold on, that doesn't count. She did it reluctantly."

"Doesn't matter. She did it either way," Sinon shrugged. She gave me a playful little shove. "No getting out of it now, smart guy."

I smiled in spite of myself. "Best two out of three."

"Not happening."

"New bet?"

"In your dreams."

"How about we thumb wrestle for it?"

"You'll lose."

"Sinon, if I have to admit I was wrong I don't think my pride could take it."

Sinon giggled with a shake of her head. "Good, it needs to be taken down a peg. Saves you from doing something stupid."

"You are so cruel, you know that?"

She shrugged, her warm, infectious smile still on her face. Then she walked off.

"Well that's different," Argo turned her gaze from me to Sinon then back, her features filled with curiosity. "What the heck happened between you two?"

I shrugged, and followed after the girl that I had grown so fond for. "Nothing. Nothing at all."


	16. Headhunters: Chapter 16

**Feels good to get this one out there for you guys. I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

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Chapter 16

"Ya realize how much this information can go for right? I make the calls to the right people, verify the info to make sure it's airtight, and this stuff can get into the millions easy," Argo said. I peered at her over the rim of my cup of soda.

"Wow. So I essentially handed you a payday on a silver platter."

"Make that platter gold and you'd be right," Argo snickered. "Hey, this was the deal."

"Oh no, I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised it ended being that rewarding to you," I said.

"Ya wanna talk about rewards?" Argo jerked her chin at Rei sitting next to me. After making it back to Glocken without incident, Argo and I agreed to keep her discovery under wraps. Showing off a rare, one-of-a-kind item tended to attract attention. Most often the wrong kind. We even went through the extra precaution of throwing Argo's cloak over her and ducking into the first hole-in-the-wall bar we could find so I could catch her up on recent events and talk business for the next half hour.

Sinon had broken off from the group once we reached the safety of the city, saying she needed to go restock Hecate's ammo and that she'd message me later. Before she left, though, she touched my arm and whispered that she needed to think. I tried not to make baseless speculations, but I'm only human.

Rei made a happy little noise as she devoted all her attention to cradling her milkshake and grinning from ear to ear. Evidently, she didn't notice Argo pointing at her as she was too immersed in trying to maneuver the straw into her mouth like it was some lost secret art.

A bar serving milkshakes? More likely than you think. Zaskar may let us shoot guns at each other, but they're not irresponsible.

I swept my eyes up and down the establishment again to make sure no one was looking our way. It was a narrow strip of a place, not much bigger than the bars you'd see out in Japan in the real world. Ten feet wide and thirty feet long. The bar counter itself took up almost the entire length of one side and a row of booths swallowed the other, leaving a cramped space in between for people coming and going. Argo and I sat in the booth furthest from the door. For the most part, we were alone. The few people around were too busy watching the TV mounted behind the bar to pay us any mind.

"So you're sure you've never seen or heard anything about this. Nothing at all?" I asked.

"If an ArFA-Sys had been discovered already, the Broker Network would be on fire. I even made sure to go through my usual contacts and didn't get so much as a whisper," Argo said. A sly smile formed on her face as she fiddled with the zipper of her mustard yellow pilot's jacket. "Ya got yourself a bonafide treasure. The first of its kind. Maybe the only one of its kind. People woulda killed to be in your place."

"Bragging rights of the century, huh?"

"With all the rewards it offers," she said. "That ArFA-Sys you have under your command is gonna rock all of GGO the second she's spotted."

I propped an elbow on the table and scratched at my eyebrow. I sort of accepted Rei becoming an abrupt inclusion in my life, but hearing someone else say as much still made me pause. "And every single person in Glocken is going to want details the moment she gets noticed. I don't know. This could be dangerous, Argo," I said. "You know how cutthroat GGO can be. I'm bottom of the barrel. If I show her off and someone gets the idea of snatching her, I could be in a whole other world of problems."

"Don't worry, I ain't sayin' ya should. Ya got bigger fish to fry right now anyways. Worry about what you're going to do with her later," Argo said.

The door to the bar opened, announcing itself with the chime of bells. I leaned out of the booth just enough to see Noya walking towards us, back in his usual navy blue fatigues. He stopped at the head of the table and gave me a greeting by way of a subtle tilt of his head.

"I got in touch with Gozu. He and Ikuchi will be waiting for us at Reif Apartments to turn in the bounty," he reported.

"Alright. We should really wrap this up then. Ya still have it?" she asked me.

I reached into my jacket's breast pocket and fished out the keycard, sliding it over to her side of the table with two fingers. "Make a big show of it when you turn it in. I want every bounty hunter in Glocken to know I'm off the market. You still have Charon too right?"

"Yup. Nice gun. Shame it's goin' to Ikuchi, but sometimes ya gotta lose a finger to save the hand," Argo took the keycard then dematerialized it into her inventory. Her weight shifted as she prepared to leave. "Keep the cloak. Consider it a thank-you for doing business. 'Sides, I think Rei is going to need it a lot more than me."

She got halfway out of her seat when I said, "I have another job for you if you're interested."

She blinked at me a few times, but still sat back down. Her trademark grin returned so fast I was willing to bet she did it on reflex whenever someone wanted her help. "So soon? You're gonna end up bein' one of my regulars at this rate."

I leaned back into my seat and pinched the spot between my eyebrows. With my bounty pretty much all taken care of, there was one last thing I needed to do. Coming through on my promise to Serena was going to be tough. I'd be the first to admit I didn't know a damn thing about helping a person through trauma. It was just knowledge I didn't have. If I was going to stand any chance of getting through to Ikuchi, I needed solid information.

I'd been leaning on Argo for this long. What's one more time?

"You used to be in SAO, right?" I asked her. When she nodded, I said, "So was Ikuchi. I think the reason he's acting like this stems from whatever happened to him in Aincrad. If we know what it was, maybe we can use it. Empathize with him a little."

Argo's fingers intertwined themselves on the table. Her expression turned thoughtful. "You want me to snoop into his SAO days, huh? I'd have to dust off the ol' notes and get into contact with some of my sources from back then, but it's possible. You got anything that'll give me a place to start?"

"No," I sighed. "All I know is that he was a survivor."

"Meanin' I have about six thousand people to investigate. That ain't gonna be quick."

"I know, I know. It's all I can give you. Ikuchi doesn't really talk to his family anymore, and even when he did, he was still tight-lipped. Maybe Serena has something you can use. I'm sure she'd be willing to help if it meant taking care of her brother."

"Only one way to find out," Argo looked off to the side and her eyes became distant. "Heh, it's almost funny. No matter how long it's been, SAO always crawls back in some way or another."

I grimaced. The wounds SAO left behind were still fresh. Still hurtful. Eventually they'd scab over, after a lot of time and work, but they wouldn't ever go away. Scars don't do that. You learn to live with them. Didn't mean it would be easy, though, "I don't want to force you to do it if you don't want to. I can find someone else."

"Nah, ya ain't gotta worry about little ol' me. I had it better than some of the other folks in there. I was a hot commodity worth protectin'," Argo gave an easy shrug. "I'll start detective-ing. Now all we gotta talk about is my payment. You didn't forget about that part, did ya?"

"No ma'am. I know how you operate," I said. I idly rapped my knuckles against the tabletop. "You once told me that the only thing more valuable than money is information. Well, have I got a deal for you."

I jerked a thumb at Rei as she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her white and purple jumpsuit. "A monopoly on anything and everything she knows. If she has answers to your questions, you're entitled to them. Stats, abilities, skills, backstory," I counted off each thing with a finger. "Every bit of it. It's all yours. Time it right when I reveal Rei to the world and you stand to make a lot of business."

Argo raised a brow. The corners of her lips turned up slightly. Try as she might, she couldn't hide the interest in her voice. "Tempting offer, I gotta say."

"Figured you'd like it. So what do you say?"

Argo pretended to think on it for a bit, but I knew she already made her decision. A good info broker wouldn't turn their noses up at new information, especially when it could be kept away from the competition in the process. In a world like Gun Gale Online, you took every advantage you could get. Argo was no exception.

"Ya got yourself a deal," She held out her hand and we shook on it. "Y'know, for a bottom of the barrel type of guy, you're gettin' pretty good at playin' the information game."

"You flatter me," I said to her. I bumped my fist against the table top. "Oh by the way, did either you lose any inventory when you died? I managed to grab it while we were running for our lives."

I swiped open my menu, flipped over to my inventory, and turned it around for Argo to see. She leaned over, stroking her chin as her murky eyes scanned through the contents.

"Oh, this is all Noya's junk," she said. The man in question perked up and leaned over to check.

"You managed to grab the locket too. Huh. I owe you one," he said. I tapped a few keys and eventually all of his old belongings were back where they belonged.

"What's the deal with that thing anyways? Never seen anything like that in GGO before," I said.

Noya shrugged and said, "Was a gift from the Prime Minister's daughter. Thought it'd be rude to turn her down."

A laugh made it out before I knew it. "You're kidding, right?"

Noya's mouth twitched at the corners. He shrugged ever so slightly. "I guess I am."

After exchanging a few goodbyes, Noya and Argo left the bar and I stared at the empty seat across from me in a pensive silence, occasionally taking a drink of soda. Try as I might, I couldn't keep the frown from growing on my face. SAO lingered in my mind. I still remembered the day it all started; the tiniest details were still fresh. All of Japan, the whole world, had been watching when the news broke out. I remembered how heavy the air had been when Kayaba's true intentions were revealed. Confusion, denial, anger, despair, and a slow, festering fear that yes, it was really happening, and no, there would be no rescue.

I'd seen what it did to people. I'd seen what is was doing to people _now,_ and for what felt like the hundredth time I wondered if Kayaba would be pleased with himself if he were still alive. Would he think it was all justified? What did he even hope to accomplish? What was his endgame?

That was the worst part of it all. Nobody on that day woke up in the morning expecting to be thrusted into a death game. Nobody. Ten thousand people hurt or killed and they didn't even know what it was all for. Kids, teenagers, people with friends and family, hopes and dreams, a life they were planning to live. Some were married or about to be, others had people relying on them. Parents buried their children. Families were torn apart. People died for nothing.

Ten thousand people.

Four thousand dead.

All for nothing.

I could see why Ikuchi would end up the way he did. I didn't blame him. Just thinking about it made my blood turn hot and I had to take a breath to ease the tension away in my knuckles before I crushed the glass in my hand.

Rei leaned forward to see my face, brows knitted together in concern. "Master, are you okay? You look upset."

I grunted, shut my eyes, and counted to ten to force myself to cool off before it could get worse. Then I took that cooled anger, put it in a box, and tucked it into some far corner in the back of my mind, right where it belonged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking back on things. I didn't mean to worry you."

Rei wrung her hands together. "Was it something I did?"

"What? No, no, you didn't do anything wrong, trust me. It's ancient history. Nothing to do with you. Sorry if I'm being a handful," I said.

Rei's eyes flickered in different directions before settling back. "Master is not a handful. He may be angry and make a scary face, but he is not a handful."

"That's...kind of you?" I said with a raised brow. "Alright, come on. Let's get you to your new home and I'll tell you the finer points of making someone feel better."

Rei shrunk down in her seat with an awkward laugh, but she nodded and shuffled out of the booth, pulling her cloak tighter around her. I got up as well and walked her to the front door, holding it open for her.

I pushed the door out all the way and walked out into the alley with her, breathing in dry air laced with the unique scent of thousand year old metal and rust. Most people would find the odor sharp or unpleasant, but after spending hundreds of hours in the game, you'd hardly notice it unless you made a special effort to.

Thankfully, the streets weren't as suffocating as usual and we headed north towards the city's central district without much fuss. Nobody spared Rei anything more than a passing glance as she walked right on my heels.

When we reached my apartment building, I touched the handle of the front door to bring up its menu and flicked through a few tabs to look up my own apartment number. Rei wasn't kidding. She had the exact same permissions I did. She could enter freely whether or not I was online, move the furniture around, even leave her own items inside. As far as GGO's system was concerned, she was pretty much my roommate.

"Welcome to your new home, I guess," I said, patting the building's front door. "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

Rei shook her head. "Nonsense. As long as it's your home, it's the best place to be in GGO."

She touched the door's handle and disappeared in a quick flash of light. I was about to go in myself until my inbox chimed with a new message. I swiped my fingers and checked the sender's name.

It was Sinon.

 _Can you meet me at the observation deck in the Upper Quarter? You know what it's about…_

I did. And I wanted to jump up and down just as much as I wanted to run away screaming. We finished the job we set out to do, the day was done, which meant we had one last thing to take care of. Our relationship, and what we meant to each other.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I wrote out a quick message telling her I'd be there in a few minutes, then made a new one for Rei, informing her that something had come up and that I'd be back soon. Once that was done, I rejoined the river of people coursing through one of Glocken's many main streets and headed to the glitzy Upper Quarter.

Time passed slower than I would've liked, yet as I reached the district known for classy hotels and players with more credits than they knew what to do with, I found myself getting nervous. The last time I was here it was because I felt out of my depth, getting sized up by players whose cumulative playtime was bigger than some phone numbers. Now they didn't even register as a blip in my mind. No, I was too caught up wondering what would happen once I reached the Observation Deck.

The rational part of my mind urged me to calm down. But logic and reason tend to fly out the window when it comes to matters of the heart. I didn't know what to expect when I arrived and that terrified me more than taking on an army of bounty hunters.

A little flirting here and there was harmless, but actually committing to each other? That was asking for more. A lot more. Sure, Sinon had kissed me back in the Wastelands, but being emotionally intimate with someone else wasn't something to take lightly, and even if we had our moments together, even if we had our highs and lows, there wasn't a guarantee Sinon would want more than that.

What if things didn't work out? What if she decided to break things off before they got too serious?

 _You're psyching yourself out, genius._ I chastised myself. I shook my head to dispel my thoughts. It wouldn't do me any good to start worrying before I even went and talked to her, but the sentiment did little to stop the aching from digging into my chest.

The Observation Deck was at the northernmost point in the Upper Quarter, situated such that it towered over everything except else save for the massive Governor's Office, the crown jewel of Glocken's cityscape. Despite the name, it was more of a semi-circular plaza with a row of holographic trees spread at regular intervals in much the same pattern. The words " _SBC Glocken_ " were stenciled along the ground, white and crisp like it'd been put in yesterday. At the very edge of the plaza were a number of box-shaped rooms for people looking to admire the view in private.

Being as high up as we were, the din of the city, the dull roar of people walking, talking, and living, the advertisements that blared their jingles and hawked their wares, were reduced to nothing more than distant thunder. The wind gently lapping at the tail of my jacket was louder than the most populated place in GGO. Off to my left, a group of four were playing hacky sack with a grenade of all things, and two women I didn't recognize leaned over the safety railing, watching the city with avid interest. Aside from them, we were alone.

I took a slow walk around the Observation Deck, hands in my pockets, until I found Sinon sitting on a bench behind one of the planters projecting a holographic tree. She was dressed in her casual wear, a pink shirt, olive jacket, coupled with grey slacks and combat boots. Her hands were in her lap, eyes gazing out at the city below, the bangs of her silky hair swaying gently against a light breeze. The way the glow of the city's lights played across her serene face almost took my breath away.

It took me a moment to realize I was staring.

I cleared my throat. Sinon blinked and looked up at me. Her posture relaxed slightly.

"This seat taken?" I asked. She shook her head, then motioned for me to sit down. I did.

"How'd things go with Argo?" she asked.

"Okay. Better than okay, actually. She's going to turn in the bounty right now. For all intents and purposes, I'm a free man now."

"Congratulations. I can't even imagine what a relief it must be to have that weight off your shoulders," she said with a faint smile. "And how's Rei?"

"Left her back in the apartment. I'm sure she's getting settled in as we speak," I blew out a breath and leaned back into the bench. "God, I have a roommate now. I'm going to have to buy some new furniture for her. Bed, worktable. There's a lot to go over. Does she even need to eat?"

"Having a girl live with you isn't as exciting as you thought, huh?" she asked. My eyes shot wide open.

"Woah, wait I'm not trying to imply — " I stopped when I caught her smirking beneath her muffler. "Oh. You're joking. Right. Should've figured."

She looked at me with amusement on her face. "For someone who makes jokes so much, I thought you'd know when one was coming."

I released a polite laugh and shrugged. "You just have that way of throwing me off my game, I guess."

Sinon's smile faded a little. She blinked twice then turned her eyes to the city below, watching the glittering lights, a sea of golds, sapphires, and emeralds as she drew a nervous breath. For a while, neither of us said anything, like we were both afraid of breaking the silence.

Finally, I sighed, leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, and clasped my hands together, speaking in a low tone. "So you wanted to talk?"

She swallowed, her lips working without sound. Then she said, "I've been thinking...about us. About you. How long have we known each other?"

I thought on it for a bit. "Four months, now."

"It doesn't seem like such a long time," she muttered. "I remember when you were just some guy who got way in over his head. I didn't really give you a second thought after that day. If I'd known how much you'd end up sticking around — I don't know. Maybe I would have treated you differently."

I nodded. "Guess that's how life works sometimes. You never really know who's going to stick around when you first meet them." A heartbeat passed and I said, "For what it's worth, I'm glad I did. Being your friend has meant a lot to me. Even if...we stay that way, I won't regret a minute of it."

"Staying friends," Sinon mumbled. "That isn't what you want though, is it?"

My voice died in my throat. My chest pounded like a war drum and I wiped at my face like it would get rid of the massive blush coming on. It was no use. I had to tell her the truth. I owed Sinon that much. "No, it isn't."

"You want to be more than friends," Sinon said, though there wasn't a trace of accusation in her tone.

I looked down at my open hands and curled my fingers into a loose fist. "I don't hate the idea."

Another drawn out pause fell between us. I didn't know what else to say, but she did. "Can you be honest with me for a minute?"

"Of course," I said.

"Wh-what exactly do you think of me?" she asked. I looked over to her. My heart sank, did somersaults, and set itself on fire all at once, and I mumbled for a second trying to come up with a decent answer.

"Well, I, um…" I cleared my throat. The words wouldn't come and it infuriated me to no end. I could talk my way out of a standoff, throw out some snarky remarks like they were nothing, and negotiate with info brokers, but when it came to speaking plainly to the girl next to me, my brain just shut down and said it'd be back in thirty minutes. "You're...you know…"

Sinon simply stared back at me.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" I said. She gave me one timid nod, eyes so bright and shining and beautiful that they tugged at me and coaxed out the words I'd wanted to tell her for so long. "I...I enjoy being with you, Sinon. God, every time I'm around you, I just get this giddy feeling. I start feeling different. G-Good different, I mean."

"Like you're...happy?" she asked.

"Yeah. Hanging out with you, seeing you, it just... it means a lot to me. You're my best friend, Sinon."

"You really mean that?"

"Yeah, I do. You've stuck by me through the worst. Hell, you could have dropped me the moment I got this bounty hanging around my neck, but you didn't. You helped me. And I don't think I would have made it this far without you. You've supported me, cheered me up, gave me advice, made me laugh and all these other little, wonderful things." I stopped long enough to take a heavy breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel like this because you're you. A confident, smart, amazing girl that I...have really strong feelings for."

Sinon stared at me with wide blue eyes, her cheeks burning a soft pink. "O-Oh."

Her eyes fell to the space between us. Rather than say anything else, she pulled lightly on my sleeve, then got up and walked towards the balcony at a slow, ambling gait. I looked around. The group further back was gone. So were the two girls. Nothing but the soft sigh of the wind spurred me to join her.

Sinon must have heard me coming because when I came close enough she put her hands on the safety rail with a sigh and said, "I've thought about having a relationship before, you know. More than once. But it hasn't happened. At first, I thought I was fine with that, but the longer I watched...other people be happy together, the more I started to get frustrated," Sinon bowed her head and gave a little half-shrug. "I'm no different than any other girl. There are things that I want too. I wanted what they had. Someone to share my life with. Someone I can talk to about all the things I can't tell anyone else."

She struggled to face me, but when she did her body language changed. Her shoulders were slumped and hunched over, arms crossed tightly over her chest like she was trying to ward off a chilling wind. Uncertainty touched her girlish face, and it struck me just how _vulnerable_ she looked.

"I haven't had the best love life. Every chance I got at having one was taken away from me. So when we were that close to each other back at the Wastelands, all these feelings came rushing at me. I _wanted_ something to happen," she said. She looked back down at the city, biting her lip. "That's why I kissed you."

I opened my mouth but no words came out. I could hardly believe my own ears to what I was hearing. Knowing she had those feelings bottled up inside her, compelling her to do what she did, floored me with raging emotions I couldn't properly sort. But it became clear to me. She'd spoken to me about her best friend before, and how she was always with her boyfriend, spending time together, bonding, smiling, living life. Seeing two people so close and connected with each other while you were the odd one out, it had to have been hard on her.

"But I don't want you to think I did what I did because I was lonely. It wasn't a fluke or a spur of the moment thing. I know better than that. It wouldn't have happened if there wasn't...something there," Sinon said. She came closer to me. Not by much — maybe a few inches — but I noticed it. "You're dear to me. You're a good person and an even better friend. And for a while now, I've been thinking about what it would be like if we took that step."

"And?" I asked tentatively.

Sinon stepped even closer, well within arm's reach, and it compelled me to take a step of my own. She slowly reached out and placed her hand against my chest like she had back at the Wastelands. "You have a good heart. You've done more for me than I could have ever asked you to, even if you didn't realize it. After a while, I started looking forward to meeting up with you, because just being around you has made my days better. I don't want that to end. I...I want to spend more time with you."

I said nothing.

"You deserve someone who can make you happy." She looked up at me with a wistful smile, her cheeks flushed pink, eyes full of warmth and affection. "If you know someone who can do that, then go after her."

I shivered, my throat tightening so hard I was afraid it would snap. Her hand glided up my collarbone, her fingers touching the base of my neck.

The words slipped out all on their own.

"I like you, Sinon. I want you next to me."

The feelings I'd held in for so long broke through. The yearning, the _longing_ yanked my chain hard. What started as a simmering passion for her companionship escalated into a full blown forest fire, wild and powerful.

A hand over hers, another on her shoulder, I pulled her in gently and wrapped my arms around her waist in a tender embrace.

Sinon gave a small gasp. Her breathing became faster. Then she carefully put her arms around my shoulders and buried her face into the crook of my neck with a shuddering sigh, whispering my name.

"I want you by my side too. I-I don't know if this will work, but I want to try."

"Yeah," I murmured. I held her close. "So do I."

We didn't say anything else. We didn't need to.

All that mattered to me was holding onto the girl I'd fallen for.

Sinon...


	17. Headhunters: Chapter 17

**Thanks for bearing with me on this one guys. Between midterms and papers to write, I've had quite the adventure getting this chapter done. Even tried to write this and a university assignment at the same time. Which probably wasn't the smartest idea considering I accidentally put a paragraph of this story into my paper. Good thing I caught it before I handed it off. That would have been a fun note from the professor. Anyways, I sincerely appreciate the love you guys have shown me. Thank you all!**

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Chapter 17

Bliss, as it turns out, is the greatest feeling in the world.

I didn't know how long we'd been standing there in each other's arms. If I'd been told we'd been that way for twenty-four hours, I would have believed it. The world just didn't matter to me at the moment. There were other, more important things to tend to. Being with the girl I cared about, savoring each other's presence as much as we could, with the bright kaleidoscope of the city in the backdrop.

I opened my eyes, smiling faintly. Sinon's grip on me hadn't loosened in the slightest. The warmth of her body curving against me made my heart swell as we gradually rocked back and forth.

There was something innately comforting about her touch. Knowing that she was choosing to hug me, choosing to be here in the moment, to share this brief and wonderful time together, made me feel like I was special to her. That I was someone she wanted to hold on to. That I was good enough for her. For as long as I've known her, Sinon wasn't a physical affection kind of person. It just wasn't her. The most she'd give was a pat on the shoulder or a playful punch, stuff that didn't involve any kind of intimacy for more than a second. I could count the amount of times she did something more on one hand.

Which made our embrace now all the more precious to me.

"What happens now?" she whispered into my ear.

"I...honestly don't know," I confessed to her. "This is all sort of new to me. I don't really know the steps."

"That makes two of us."

I laughed a little, "Casanovas we are not."

Sinon pulled away a little to face me properly. It could have been my imagination or a trick of the light coming from the city, but her eyes gave off a lovely, warm glow only matched by her flushed pink cheeks. "So you're okay with learning together? It wouldn't be too weird, would it?" her voice was thin and touched with awkwardness.

Now it was my turn to blush. I'd always known Sinon as the cool-headed, composed, no-nonsense sniper. The list of things that got any emotion out of her other than irritation or anger could fit nicely on a business card. Seeing her act like, well, an average everyday girl was a surprise. A very welcome surprise. "W-Well, no. I mean...we've come this far, haven't we? We'll learn and try our best for each other. Wing it. Just like we always do."

"Do you really think that's the wisest way to go about this?" Sinon chided me gently.

"Not entirely sure," I said. "All I know is that I really like the girl in front of me and I want to do my best to try and make my relationship with her work. Sometimes going in with no plan works best. Makes the surprises that much better."

"Or horrifying," Sinon replied, smiling.

"Glass half full."

Sinon shook her head and laughed under her breath. "Quite the philosophy you have there. It's pretty much what I would've expected from you."

"That a bad thing?"

"No, not really. It's just different." Sinon unraveled herself from the embrace. I found myself missing it already. "It's what I like about you. Among other things."

"Oh?" I raised a brow. "What else?"

Sinon gave me a small shove. "If you think I'm going to just tell you, then you must have forgotten who you're talking to," She said. Then with a bashful little smile, she added, "But...I do like you. Don't think otherwise. Got it?"

"Got it."

She cracked a faint smile, then looked out over the city. "Though I'm not sure how much we can wing a relationship in a place like GGO. Or through the AmuSphere. I know there are some people who manage it, but..."

"Uhh, yeah. About that," I said. I wrung my hands together. "Remember when you told me you live in Tokyo? Well, so do I. In an apartment complex over in Misuji, Taito. You know, in case you ever wanted to meet in person somewhere down the line."

Sinon stared back at me, eyes wide. She tried to say something else, but gave up after a few tries and settled for, "Really? You're telling me just like that?"

I shrugged. "Figured it was only fair."

Which wasn't a lie. For all it's advances, the internet was still a dangerous place if you weren't careful. I wouldn't blame Sinon for being even the slightest bit wary of the fact that I knew where she lived, even if it was somewhere as expansive as the Tokyo Metropolis. Relationship or not, she knew nothing about who I was when I took off the AmuSphere. And she'd been hurt before. Her former best friend Shinkawa broke her trust and tried to kill her. That had to have done a number on her. People don't bounce back easy from betrayal, especially when it endangered their lives.

I told her where I lived as a sign of my trust in her. Maybe one day we could meet when she was ready and comfortable with it, but until then I wanted to make sure we were on equal footing.

"Taito, huh?" She said. She murmured quietly to herself. She crossed her arms together and said, staring down at the ground, "Thank you. For telling me. I won't forget it. Maybe I'll be around there someday."

"Yeah, drop on by if it ever suits you," I said.

She nodded and said, "Sorry, but it's getting pretty late. And it's been a really long day. I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Wanna meet up at noon on Saturday? I'm free then and might need some help training Rei. I want to put her through her paces to see what she can do," I said. "And, y'know, I'd like to spend some more time with you, if that's alright. Y-You don't have to, obviously, but I'd...um...I'll stop talking."

She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with a barely perceptible smile. "I can make it. See you then?"

"Yeah."

Sinon nodded again, turned to leave, and made it a few steps before she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Oh. Don't tell Argo about what happened here, okay? If you do, she's going to pester me for the details and I don't have the years to satisfy her curiosity."

I mimed zipping my mouth shut, locking it, then throwing the imaginary key over the deck rail.

Sinon laughed a little in response and gave me one of her wide smiles, her ice blue eyes sparkling. "Goodnight. I'll see you later."

"Night, Sinon."

The warm feeling in my chest didn't fade when she left. If anything, it kept burning, and my heart joined in with a sonorous pounding so intense it felt like fireworks were going off in my chest. It hurt, but it was a pleasant kind of hurt. Like little pinpricks of joy that poked my chest and sent jolts of blazing mirth coursing through me. I leaned back against the safety rail and replayed what happened over and over again my head. I went so far as to pinch myself just to make absolutely sure what just happened was real.

I clasped a hand over my mouth and laughed. By god, it was hard not to. I was happy. I was floating with exhilaration. Giddiness flooded my veins and I seriously would have started dancing like an idiot if my muscles weren't tight with excitement. Sinon returned my feelings. She wanted to be more than friends. She wanted to be closer to me. And that thought more than anything else made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

I headed back to my apartment, walking on clouds the whole way there.

When I got back, I helped Rei settle in and gave her the tour of my fabulous one-room apartment, mostly by way of pointing at every piece of furniture and saying what it was, then showing her where she could put her things before finishing it off with a set of house rules. Riveting stuff. I expected her eyes to glaze over at some point or maybe for a string of drool to slide out of the corner of her mouth, but Rei gave me her rapt attention the whole way through, asking questions and absorbing the answers with the same amount of gusto. Either she was genuinely interested in my meager way of living or she was just being polite for the sake of not offending her master. Better for my pride to think it was the former.

"You still going to be here when I log back on?" I asked, breath huffing as Rei helped me move the circular table I used as a workbench out of the corner and towards my bed. It was almost midnight and the fatigue of the day had started weighing heavily on my shoulders.

"Absolutely. In fact, I am fully able to do your shopping and conduct maintenance on any of your firearms while you're away," Rei said.

"Really? Well I'm going to have to put a rain check on that. I'm not exactly swimming in credits right now. I barely have enough money for ammo," I said. Rei tilted her head to one side.

"That's no good. You need to get out there and kill some monsters. There are plenty of ways to accumulate credits. I can help you manage them too."

"I know, I know. I will. It's just that there's other things I've had to take care of. They were more important than getting some credits."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there was a point a month or so back where I didn't log into GGO to play and have fun," I placed my hands on the table, leaning forward. "Things have gotten a whole lot more serious than monster hunts or dungeon raids. The stakes are different. And I've had to be a lot more careful about where I went."

"I'm not sure I understand." Rei paused, then said, "This is about that Ikuchi person, isn't it?"

I gave her the short version of things starting from when he hired Sinon to retrieve the keycard. Rei listened the whole way through, though she was noticeably less enthused about it than when she was learning about the finer points of apartment living. When I wrapped up my explanation, she'd sat down on my bed, hands on her lap, a worried look on her face.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who needs to be worried about," I said.

"Still…I'm worried about you."

I sucked in a breath. "I'll be fine. I've dealt with worse things than this. And now that I have you on my side, I stand an actual chance of making sure everyone gets the help they need."

Rei's face lit up a little at that. She jumped off my bed and gave a sharp salute, clacking her heels together. "I'm happy to help however I can, Master. But there is one thing that doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

"Shoot," I said.

"Why did Ikuchi hire Sinon in the first place? If he didn't, you never would have found out he was planning to use me against her."

I braced a hand against the wall, bowing my head. Truth was I didn't have an answer for her. Ikuchi wasn't an idiot, which made his decision to include Sinon in his grand plan all the more perplexing. If he had hired anyone else, he would have gotten Rei and used it to his advantage without Sinon or I ever being the wiser.

Was he just being cocky? There wasn't a high chance we'd figure his plans out at the start, but we wouldn't have found out at all if he hadn't gotten Sinon involved at the start.

So the big question remains. Why hire her and risk getting his plans discovered?

"When we catch up to him, I'll ask myself.. I'm no PI, but I can tell something bigger's going on here," I said with a shake of my head. "I'm going to log off. On Saturday I'm going to give you a little test to see what you can do. Sound cool?"

"Affirmative. Goodnight, Master!"

I logged out, but my thoughts still swirled with theories and half-baked questions I couldn't properly answer. A lot had happened in a relatively short amount of time and I needed to digest everything to start putting it all together. There was a lot to dig into. New friends. New information. New plans.

New relationships.

When the weekend rolled over, I logged on to find Rei sitting on my bed again and she welcomed me with the enthusiasm that by now I had come to expect from her. I returned the greeting then spent a few minutes scraping together what miserable savings I had. Then I gathered up some junk items and weapons I didn't need, headed off to the market district to sell them, and brought those savings up from miserable to just slightly pathetic.

Finding treasure and hunting monsters are profitable careers, don't you know?

The market district was as busy as ever. I restocked on ammo, bought a few medical syringes and a bundle of frag grenades, haggled a player merchant for an old hunting rifle, then snagged a new knife to replace the one I lost at Valley Moor. I was already heading out with my bag of goodies when Sinon pinged me that she was online and I messaged her to meet me in a specific location in Old South before heading out with Rei in tow, cloak on and hood up.

Admittedly, there were safer places to train her. The Remnant Wastelands were mostly populated by low level monsters and players just starting out. They couldn't kill us even if they all banded together to do it. But there wasn't a lot of variety in terms of terrain. Just flat fields with the odd building or cave here and there. Rei had to be tested in every aspect I could think of, which meant going to Old South, a zone ripe with wide grasslands, a city for urban warfare and close quarters combat, subway tunnels for dark and cramped spaces, and fairly challenging enemies to test her mettle.

We headed towards a decrepit husk of a hotel building near the center of town, about a dozen stories high with several holes the size of large boulders punched into its sides. The windows were dirty if not outright shattered, the roof was partially collapsed, and vines were crawling up the building's sides like the fingers of nature were retaking what was theirs. From near the top floor hung a large, ancient white tarp flapping against the wind, the words ' _SURVIVORS INSIDE'_ painted on it with black paint.

I get nervous when approaching tall buildings. Dozens of windows staring back at me, hiding god-knows-what, tend to do that. Out of habit, I stayed out of the middle of the street, taking the alleys when I could and moving from cover to cover when I couldn't. The distant chatter of a few assault rifles was all that accompanied us, no doubt other players doing their daily hunting quests or scavenging for mid-tier materials. Thankfully, the building itself was empty and silent aside from the moaning of wind and the creak of ancient metal settling.

In another time, the hotel would have been the lap of luxury. Lush red carpets had turned dark and dreary, tiled floors were rotted with weeds sprouting between the cracks, marble pillars lay collapsed, on the verge of crumbling, or marred with dark brown stains that may have been blood. A broken crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling swung with an ugly noise that grated on the ears.

Still, if it weren't for the peeling paint, large puddles of dirty water, or the trash littering the floors, some would still consider it downright homey. You take what you can get in a post-apocalypse.

Between two sets of curved staircases that led up to a mezzanine was the reception desk where a lone figure sat. Her monstrous sniper rifle was propped up on the table's surface by its bipod, the business end pointed straight at my chest.

"Is this how you treat all your guests?" I asked Sinon as I approached the counter. She scoffed, but did nothing to hide her bright smile.

"Nice to see you too. You have any trouble on the way over?" she asked.

"No, why?"

Sinon's smile faded. "Some guys followed me on my way over here. Three of them. But they disappeared before I made it to the hotel."

I frowned. It was probably nothing. For all I knew, it was just some fans of hers that had no concept of privacy. They were excited, but nervous about approaching her so they ended up following her without realizing how creepy it looked. Yeah. That made sense. Maybe if I said it to myself enough, I'd start to believe it.

I glanced over at Hecate, its barrel still pointed at the front door. "Higher floor, then?"

"Yeah, I'd be a lot more comfortable with a better vantage point," Was what Sinon said. She left out, _So I can shoot anyone that comes our way_.

"Works for me. Was going to have Rei test this out anyways," I jerked a thumb at the hunting rifle slung over my back.

At the mention of her name, Rei strode forward and thrusted her hand out, "I'm sorry. I realized that I never introduced myself to you. Master calls me Rei and you're his friend so you can too! It's very good to meet you."

Sinon gave her a friendly smile and took the offered hand with a firm shake. "Rei. My name is Sinon. I guess you can consider me your master's partner. I can teach you a little about how to handle a sniper rifle if you'd like. It'll only take a few minutes for you to be better at it than him."

I smiled a little. "C'mon Sinon, I'm supposed to be a role model now. Don't embarrass me in front of my ArFA-Sys."

"I suppose you're right. You'll manage it on your own, I'm sure."

Well, I walked into that one.

"Hah. Haha. Hah," I said in my best dead voice. "Alright, let's mosey on up before somebody stumbles across us. Elevator's work in this place?"

"Nope. They're stuck on the top floor. We should take the stairs anyway just to be sure no one's hiding in them," Sinon said.

"Bleh."

"Quit whining. What happened to being a role model for Rei?"

"Role models would never lie about how much it sucks to take the stairs," I said.

"Don't be such a baby," Sinon narrowed her eyes at me, then picked up Hecate and started up one of the two curved staircases. "Come on, we're losing daylight."

Rei pursed her lips together, watching her go. "Master, you're partner seems to be a little, ah, headstrong."

I shrugged. "Yeah. That's why I like her."

We set up on the ninth floor with nary a peep from enemy players or monsters. The hotel was practically hollow, devoid of life, but I wasn't about to let my guard down. Not after what Sinon told me. The two of us swept every room we passed on the way up like a pair of crime scene investigators, giving each one a quick scan, then looking inside the closets and bathrooms for the slightest indication we weren't alone inside the building. There were none. We even checked for any traps someone might have left behind with much the same result.

A bunch of rooms and a marathon of stairs later, we made it to our hotel room, which was no better aesthetic wise than the rest of the place. The two beds were lumpy and sagging under their own weight. The wallpaper had been stripped clean off, exposing aging drywall riddled with cracks and rotting planks of wood. I propped the only window in the room open and poked my head out to see the main street below overrun with grass, trees, and long dead cars with a freeway exit ramp to my right being in much the same condition.

"The view's nice, but the amenities leave something to be desired," I said to myself. I ducked my head back in and pulled up a chair and a small writing desk, putting them up against the open window. "Expert opinion, this make a good sniper perch?"

Sinon came up next to me, but instead of sticking her head out the window like I did, she pressed herself against the wall next to it and peered out to make herself a smaller target. You know, like I probably should have done. "It's serviceable. The buildings across the street mess with the sightlines up close, but we can see several blocks away from here," She scanned the surrounding area again and said, "Yeah, this is fine. Rei, come on over and sit down. I'll show you how to shoot a rifle."

I pulled the hunting rifle off my back and handed it off to my ArFA-Sys, then opened my menu and started slipping through tabs until I landed on my character sheet. Right next to my name was Rei's and when I pressed it, her stats popped up. I let out a low whistle in surprise. Single digits all the way down the board. But the amount of unspent points she had more than made up for it. Technically, she was the same level as me. Her stats just needed to be set.

"Well, we have free reign to give her whatever build she wants. Sniper, assault, scout. What are you feeling, Rei?" I asked.

"Uhm, I don't really have a preference. I'll trust in your judgement, Master," she said while Sinon helped her adjust her grip on the hunting rifle.

"Guess it's a good thing we have a good mix of weapons for you to try. Let's get cracking," I said.

We started off teaching her the basics and testing what worked for her. Grenade throwing, using small firearms like my MP7 before moving on to more powerful weapons. Little by little, I distributed her stats according to her tastes, consulting Sinon every so often whenever the need arose.

And it was fun. Despite my earlier caution, it was hard to deny that for the first time in a long while, I felt like I could breathe easy again. I was playing GGO. Actually playing it. I almost forgot what it felt like to not have to look over my shoulder whenever I left Glocken. No more worrying about planning quick escape routes in case I needed to bug out. No more covering my tracks or distrusting every stranger I came across. Instead, I traded banter with Sinon while we helped my ArFA-Sys try out different weapons. Rei, bless her heart, didn't get half the jokes I made, but it didn't take the fun out of things. We were free to enjoy ourselves. And that, more than anything, was the most valuable thing to me.

Things felt normal again.

"Was it hard to fly?" I asked at some point during a conversation Sinon and I were having. A couple of hours had passed and we were both sitting on one of the beds, shoulder to shoulder. Rei had gone downstairs to take potshots at a roving pack of wolves, leaving us with a moment to ourselves.

"At first, yeah. ALO can give you this little controller that makes it easier, but I kind of need both hands to use a bow so…" Sinon shrugged with a proud smile. "I had to learn pretty fast if I wanted to do anything advanced, like flying and shooting at the same time."

I nodded and stared at the blank wall across from us. "So how many times did you crash into something?"

"None," she replied, a little too quick.

"Wow, dozens? That's very unbecoming of you."

Sinon jabbed my arm with her elbow.

"Woah, hey, pick on someone your own size, why don'tcha?" I said.

She snorted, crossing her arms together. "You wouldn't be any better. I bet you wouldn't even get off the ground without smacking your head into something."

"Ohoho, is that a challenge I hear?"

"What do you think?" she asked, turning her sharp gaze at me.

I turned to face her and considered it for a moment, "I think you're inviting me to play ALO with you."

Sinon paused. Her expression relaxed and she said, "What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch," I tapped the side of my head. "Does that mean you want to go back? To your friends, I mean."

She let out a short sigh. "One of them called me yesterday. Silica. She invited me to go to a crêpe store with her because it had been so long since we did anything together. I did, and we ended up talking for a long time. Turns out, everyone in the group was afraid they did something wrong since I'd been pushing them away so much. Can you believe that? They thought _they_ were the ones who did something wrong."

"So what did you tell her?" I asked.

"The truth. I told her the reason I left was because I needed some space to work on myself for a bit. I guess the upside to this whole debacle with Ikuchi is that it kept me thinking about my relationship with them and where they all fit in my life," she said, her lips set in a firm line. "I can't stay away from them forever. It wouldn't be fair to anyone and I'd just be hurting myself in the long run. Friends matter."

Her eyes shifted over to me. "Watching you showed that to me."

"Pardon?"

"When things got bad, you reached out to your friends. Me, Argo — "

"Argo's more like a business associate," I said.

"You know what I mean. You tried to get help from people you know. People you have a bond with. If there wasn't a bond, you'd make it, like with Serena and Llenn, even though she was trying to kill you. On the other hand, I was pushing my friends away to spare my own feelings. I had my reasons, sure, but I was so scared about losing them that I decided to cut them off on my own terms. Just to avoid taking painful steps."

Sinon turned her body towards me, her voice quiet, "I can't do that. I can't live in a vacuum anymore. I don't _want_ to live like that anymore. I need other people around. People like you and Silica and everyone else in the group. The support from all of you means everything to me. I just...hope they'll forgive me for disappearing on them so often."

"From what you've told me, there isn't a doubt in my mind," I said. And I meant it. I didn't know them personally, but if even half of what Sinon said about them was true, they were friends worth holding onto.

"Thanks. But yeah, if you ever want to join ALO…" Sinon let the words hang in the air, then pulled her muffler over her mouth and looked away, digging her fingers into the mattress, trying her best at appearing nonchalant. "You just tell me, okay? I'll show you — "

She jumped when I put my hand over hers.

I didn't say anything to her. She looked up at me and I smiled in content. She returned it faintly. Our fingers intertwined together and I felt her lean just the tiniest bit against me.

"I might take you up on that one day," I whispered to her. "So does that mean you're going to introduce me to your friends?"

"I think so," she murmured back.

"Think they'll like me?"

"As long as you're not obnoxious."

"Well now I'm tempted."

Sinon giggled. "You're an idiot."

"Ouch. Words hurt."

"You know what? I might drag you to ALO just to see if you're as good at swinging a sword as you are at running your mouth."

I showed my teeth in a wide grin, "I just might be."

Rei suddenly poked her head inside the room. "Master, I saw people coming inside the hotel. They looked like trouble."

I had to give her credit. Sinon was already up and grabbing Hecate from where it was propped up against the window before I could so much as get to my feet. "H-How many? Is there anybody else coming towards us?"

"Three, I think? I was shooting wolves downstairs when I saw them come inside," Rei said.

"No one is coming down the street so if Rei's right, there should only be three of them," Sinon interjected. She was sitting at the writing desk up against the window, adjusting the knob atop her scope before peering through it again.

I stood next to her and looked outside. The weather was taking a turn for the worse. The sky was darkening. Flashes of distant lighting sliced through the air, akin to cracks on concrete. Thunder rolled like a war drum, harsh and powerful. The temperature seemed to drop by a good ten degrees, though the cutting wind whipping at my face made it feel even colder. It wasn't often that it stormed in GGO, but when it did it was usually in Old South.

"Don't suppose they were just looking for shelter from the rain," I said.

Sinon looked up at me from her scope. I felt the doubt in her stare.

"Right. Look, I'll head on down there and see what they want. It's probably nothing. Just some other players who don't know we're here, minding their own business," I marched over to the furthest most bed in the room where I put my things and started arming myself up to the teeth. MP7 hooked to an over-the-shoulder strap that crossed my chest, leaving it dangling against my hip within easy reach, the Oroshi Nine and its holster on the opposite side, my new knife in its sheath just behind it, and finally the sawed off shotgun resting against my stomach. True, it belonged to Noya, but he never asked for it back so I supposed that made it mine now. "Sinon stay up here and let me know if anyone else comes along. Rei, head downstairs where you first saw these guys and do the same. Anything happens, you tell us okay?"

Rei nodded in earnest. "I'll do my best."

"Atta girl. Keep your head on straight," I tugged the hood of her cloak over her eyes as a small tease. She pouted and tried adjusting it back while I turned to Sinon. "You good?"

"I got things covered from here," Sinon looked over her shoulder at me and gave a barely perceptible nod. All of the warm demeanor she had from before slipped away, replaced by the stony expression and hard gaze she always wore. "Keep your eyes peeled. And don't get reckless."

"You know me. Always careful."

Sinon scoffed. We opened a party and once I headed out the door adjusting my earpiece, the storm made contact. Rain pattered, wind wailed, lighting crackled, thunder boomed. The clouds had swallowed most of the sunlight and left the halls just barely brighter than full darkness. The superstitious would claim it was a sign. I might've just believed them.

I headed down a short hall and turned left into the small elevator lobby we passed by when we first came through. One of the elevator doors was partly open and I squeezed through just enough to work an arm in and push it all the way. The shaft on the other side was empty and dark, and it wasn't shy about giving me a nasty sense of vertigo.

I reached over and felt around the moldy concrete walls until I found the rung of a maintenance ladder, using it as a guide to carefully turn and set my feet on it before climbing down — cool, confident, and not at all worrying about losing my grip and plummeting nine stories to an ignoble death. Of course I could have just taken the stairs to avoid such a thing, but this way was faster.

Also I didn't want to take the stairs again. Sue me.

I reached the bottom in record time and luckily, the elevator doors on the first floor were already opened. I slinked out into mezzanine that overlooked the rest of the lobby, keeping low and quiet with a hand hovering over my MP7. The storm wasn't quite raging yet, but it still made listening for any voices difficult. I stopped at the little landing in between the two curved staircases that went down and peeked over the bannister, hoping the darkness would keep me hidden long enough to get a good read of the room.

Much to my simultaneous relief and dismay, Rei was right. Three people were standing in a loose circle in front of the reception desk, all facing each other while wringing the water out of their clothes. Their weapons were dangling from their harnesses instead of their hands, which hopefully meant they weren't expecting a fight at the moment.

"Christ, I wish the AmuSphere didn't replicate rain so well. Annoys the hell out of me," said one of them. He was thin enough that his black clothes and flak jacket would've been hanging off him even if they weren't drenched.

"Relax, dude. It's just water. It ain't gonna hurt you," said another, a fellow wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. The only armor he had on was a kevlar vest and knee pads over a t-shirt and jeans.

"No man, it's the principle of the thing. I hate getting wet. My clothes stick to me and my shoes squeak every time I walk. They. Squeak. How do you not find that annoying?" Black asked.

"I just don't think it's a big deal. It happens. Suck it up and move on," Sunglasses replied.

"Whatever. We'll see if you're saying the same thing when squeaky shoes screw you over."

Sunglasses laughed. "Alright, killer."

"Sinon, got three guys down in the lobby. They haven't spotted me yet, but it seems like they just wanted to get out of the rain," I whispered.

"I don't like it. After everything that's happened, this seems too familiar. For all we know, these are the same guys that followed me earlier today," she said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. There's a lot of people playing on a weekend. It can go either way," I chewed on my tongue for a minute, looking around the lobby, until my eyes fell on the reception desk directly beneath me. Bricks upon bricks of C4 were sitting atop it. Uh oh. "Sinon, these guys have enough explosives to take out a city block."

"I don't suppose they're using them as party favors," she said.

"If they were, I wanna know what kind of parties they're going to," I said.

"So what are you thinking?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek then shook my head. "As a rule, you don't carry around explosives unless you intend to blow something up. Not taking chances on this one. They gotta go." I rose to my feet, elbows on the rotted wooden railing, and I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Excuse me, fellas. You checking in?"

Black yelped and hunched his shoulders like someone had fired a gun next to his ear. Sunglasses whipped his head around to face me, but seemed unbothered by my sudden appearance. The third guy who had kept quiet the entire time narrowed his dark green eyes. He was tall, thin, dressed in desert fatigues, and had shoulder length blonde hair that went fabulously with the twin Beretta pistols he pointed at my face.

"That's him. Take him down!"

Gee, where have I heard that before?

I snatched my MP7 and fired from the hip more for the sake of scattering them rather than hitting anything. The three scampered back, but Beretta was still in the right state of mind to return fire as he went. The hiss of bullets passed my ear and I threw myself to the ground as the banister shrieked, bullets tearing it to splinters.

"Well someone's not getting their deposit back," I said. "Sinon, they're hostile. And you'll never guess who they're after."

"You?"

"Aww darn, you got it on the first try," I rolled onto my stomach and let off short, controlled bursts. The three bounty hunters had fled behind the large marble pillars in the lobby, which made for much better cover than the shredded bannister I was using, so I scrambled to my feet, took two long steps, and hopped over it. The second I hit the ground, I tucked into a roll and pressed my back against the reception desk.

"This doesn't make any sense. Argo turned in the bounty. Why are they still hunting you?" Sinon hissed, her voice tight like a piano string on the verge of snapping.

"Good question. I'll ask our guests," I whispered. A bullet tore through the desk and I jerked my head away on reflex to avoid any splinters cutting into my face

"Watch your shots, we're supposed to subdue him and bring him in alive," one of them shouted.

"Oh great, more people that want to beat me up. C'mon guys, I play video games to get away from high school," I shouted back. They responded by shredding the reception desk again. Some people.

I unlatched a grenade from my belt, pulled the pin, and counted to three before tossing it overhead. Shouts interrupted the stream of gunfire and a deafening boom shook the floor and sent shrapnel flying. I got up, breaking into a dead sprint, and threw myself against one of the few pillars still standing with my sawed-off in hand. Then I heard something I didn't expect trying to flank me. Squeaky shoes.

I spun out of cover, lashing my arm out and using the centrifugal force to whip the butt of my sawed-off into Black's face. He never saw it coming. Polished wood cracked against his skull and he dropped to his hands and knees, his assault rifle clattering to the floor. I snaked an arm around his neck in a choke hold and hoisted him up to his feet, keeping him between me and Sunglasses as he peeked out from his pillar with his M16. The rifle's bullet line tried to align itself with my face, but the nice thing about having a heads-up like that was being able to avoid it. I moved my head one way to another, just out of its reach.

"Let him go!" he shouted. Black struggled to free himself by prying my arm off his neck. I tightened it and pressed the end of the sawed-off against his head.

"Didn't you guys get the memo? Bounty on me's been claimed already. I'm no use to you anymore," I said.

Beretta emerged from his pillar, both pistols raised, "Yes. The bounty was turned in. But if you think that was going to save you then you're sorely mistaken."

I glared at him. Not bounty hunters, then. I had to keep him talking, figure out what they wanted. "Then why are you here? Can't imagine I pissed somebody else off recently."

"You don't get it, do you? We aren't bounty hunters. You're little scheme ran its course. Now we're handling things ourselves," he said.

A sharp, icy spike sank deep into my stomach. I unconsciously gripped my sawed-off tighter. I knew on some level the jig would be up eventually. But it happened way sooner than I thought it would, "So you're Yokai. Figured you'd take care of me yourselves now that the bounty hunters did their job."

"Crap," Sinon whispered in my earpiece. "Ikuchi's gotta be around coordinating this. Keep your guard up."

"Partly," Beretta said. "We want whatever it is you took from the vault. Do that and we'll leave. Simple as that," Out of the corner of my eye, Sunglasses tried to move and I pointed my sawed-off at him to dissuade him from doing such a thing.

I followed the train of logic. Yokai was stepping up to the plate now that the bounty hunters had no reason to come after me. Which meant Ikuchi had gotten wise to what I did. He knew that I suckered him. And while they knew I had the treasure, they had no idea what it actually was. They didn't know about Rei. Best to keep that card in my pocket for now. "I'm going to decline your generous offer. You tell Ikuchi that he can buzz off because I'm not giving him anything."

Beretta narrowed his eyes. There was no irritation or anger to it. "Is that your final decision?"

Final. Implications, thy name is Beretta.

"Yeah. Close the door on your way out, would you?" I tilted my head at the front entrance.

Beretta sighed and said, "This wasn't how the plan was supposed to go, but I suppose a little improvisation wouldn't hurt," he smiled at me the same way a lion smiles at an injured gazelle. If the darkness hadn't been so heavy or if I'd been just a little bit more observant, I might have noticed the earpiece he was wearing. But I didn't. Not until it was too late.

"Do it," he said.

Somewhere outside, thunder roared like a sonic boom. But thunder doesn't shake a building so hard it knocks dust and chips of plaster from the ceiling or send debris crashing into the streets seconds later.

"W-what was that?" Rei shrilled over the radio.

"RPG's are coming from the neighboring buildings. They're trying to flush us out. Rei, get moving, it's not safe here!" Sinon barked.

Beretta made a pleased noise from the back of his throat, looking infuriatingly amused with himself. "Unfortunately, we aren't too sure where Sinon is holed up. I suppose that means we'll have to hit every floor from the top down."

For a brief instant, white hot anger flashed through my veins and I had to slap down the impulse to blow my captive's head off right then and there. "She isn't here. You're wasting your time."

"You're a terrible liar. Everyone knows you two are stuck to each other."

Another explosion rocked the place down to its foundations. The chandelier up above swayed and gave an awful screech. Black struggled against my hold on him again and I squeezed his throat just a little to keep him still while shoving my sawed-off into its holster. "Where's Ikuchi? He has to be around. Don't tell me he sent his grunts to do the dirty work."

"You don't need to know that."

I reached for my belt and touched what I was looking for. "That your final answer?"

See? I can implicate too.

"Just do something already, guys!" Black snapped.

"Well since you asked so nice," I yanked one of the leftover grenades from Rei's training off my belt, jammed it inside the armhole of his flak jacket, then kicked him in the back as I wrapped a finger around the pin. It came off with a sharp click. Black stumbled into his cohorts, frantically clawing at the back of his jacket, his voice rising in alarm. His friends either knew he was a goner or just didn't care enough to help him because they both ignored him completely to duck and cover.

The grenade detonated with an ear-splitting bang.

Whatever money the poor guy spent on his flak jacket was apparently money well spent since it deflected the blast of shrapnel _inwards_ , ricocheting them right through his insides like tomatoes in a blender. Bright red pixels gushed out from underneath his clothing in a thick purée, and he hit the ground, smoke and blood pouring out of his corpse as he disintegrated into pixels. Thank the gods the devs didn't make accurate gore, otherwise I'd be fighting to keep my lunch down.

All told, it took him a couple of seconds to die, and not a moment later, the shooting ramped up again. Sunglasses popped a few bursts of his M16 that tore chunks off of the collapsed marble pillar I threw myself behind.

"Sinon, how are things looking on your end?" I muttered. More shrieking rockets were followed by raucous explosions from above. I inwardly cursed and bolted for the the next pillar to try and flank Ikuchi's flunkies, legs pumping with what passed for adrenaline in this game. The chatter of guns followed after me and a slight stinging sensation hit me square in the kidney hard enough to throw me into a stumble. My health dropped, but I managed not to fall on my face and raised my MP7 with one hand, letting off a volley of return fire in the general direction the shot came from. I threw my back against the next pillar and exchanged the little submachine gun with my sawed-off. "Sinon?"

No response.

I checked her health in the corner of my screen. She and Rei were still in the green. "Sinon, give me something here. Rei, where are you?"

Nothing.

Panic nipped at my heels. I nearly called for them again until Sinon spoke, but she dashed my relief before it could even form.

"Ikuchi...why are you here?"

Oh no.

How did he get to her? I never saw him come in. There's no way he could have come in through the front entrance.

 _Of course not, idiot._ I thought to myself. _He came in through somewhere else, bypassed you completely. You might have passed him on the way down the ladder and never noticed._

I clenched my teeth, wiping away nonexistent sweat from my brow. I couldn't afford to play around anymore. Getting back up to the top floors was more important now. If Ikuchi found Sinon, then he could find Rei. That's assuming, of course, he hadn't already.

"He had nothing to do with this. You think I was going to let you keep doing what you were doing?" I heard Sinon say. It brought a scowl to my face. She was trying to cover for me. Make herself out to be the one that duped Ikuchi. I couldn't let her down. Not now.

"Keep yourself alive, Sinon. I'll be up there soon," I whispered to her, my voice grave.

I sucked in a breath and focused. Really focused. People often talk about being in the zone, and it tends to be different for everyone depending on what they're doing. Their senses sharpen and crystallize until the world slips away, leaving only their work in front of them. Or perhaps they eliminate all doubt and thoughts from their mind. They either do things unconsciously or with their brain firing on all cylinders, but it all served the same singular purpose of doing what needed to be done with every ounce of skill and strength they possessed.

And right now I needed every last bit of it.

With that in mind, I dug deep inside myself and reached down for a specific part of me, a fire that had long since gone out, its embers dim but glowing nonetheless. I stoked it. Gave it life once more. Willpower is a hell of a thing. It's present inside every living thing in some shape or form. It's started revolutions and toppled regimes. It's fueled the minds of the greatest inventors and explorers, destroyed walls and mountains, spit in the eye of detractors and naysayers, achieved the impossible, broke the limits, prevailed against all the odds. Every person who has failed, dusted themselves off, and tried again drew from the same well of iron determination that made Humans into the dominant life forms on the planet.

And it'd been a long time since I used mine.

Without warning, I jumped out of cover and sprinted at full speed towards the last two people standing in my way. In front of me and a bit to my left, Beretta leaned out from his pillar, presumably to pop me with his pistols, but my arm was already in motion, flicking a live grenade at him with a quick snap of my wrist. That was enough to get him to back off. He growled in frustration and moved to his right, towards the reception desk just as the grenade devastated the area he'd been in.

Sunglasses started moving to my right, opposite of Beretta, towards the front door. He caught sight of me and raised his rifle, his bullet line landing right at my chest. I met it with my own, firing my sawed-off as fast as I could. At the range I was at, the spread would be too wide to inflict any serious harm, but killing him wasn't the intention.

A few glowing red spots exploded along his arm and chest. Sparks flew from his rifle where some of the pellets hit it. Sunglasses flinched, more out of reflex rather than any actual pain, and it threw off his aim by jerking his bullet line to one side as he fired. I twisted my body the other way, felt the air rip apart a few inches away, and kicked off my left foot in a short hop, pulling my Oroshi Nine pistol free with my off-hand and firing three shots in quick succession. The bullets caught him the chest, right where his kevlar was. Which meant it didn't do much besides pissing him off.

"You were a speck, Ikuchi. I didn't think anything of you. But then you went and put him in harm's way. I can't ignore that. Your fight was with me and I gladly would have taken you on if you had approached me like you had a backbone. But you didn't. I expected better from you," Sinon snarled.

I switched the sawed-off in favor for my MP7. Beretta skittered to a stop in front of the reception desk to take aim at me. So did Sunglasses as he leaned out of his pillar. But the wonderful thing about having a gun in both hands was that I didn't need to worry about who to shoot first. The lobby erupted with the barking of gunfire, discordant and chaotic in a sudden upheaval that rivaled the raging storm outside in sheer volume. The air turned hot and sour, almost suffocating me. But I didn't stop. I willed myself to keep moving, to keep fighting.

To keep surviving.

Sunglasses tagged me pretty good in the chest, but I answered in kind, my MP7 firing nonstop, a thick trail of smoke wafting from the barrel. He linked up with Beretta and forced me behind another pillar, pelting it with bullet holes. I cursed under my breath, took out my last grenade, and held it over the pillar's surface. A small menu popped up in front of me and I stabbed my finger against one of the options. The grenade was consumed by a flash of light and reappeared attached to the pillar.

I leaned out of cover and fired off a random shot of my pistol to grab their attention, then ran for it, holstering my gun to be able to reload my sawed-off while I did.

"You haven't seen him like I have. If you think for a second that he's doing all this for himself then you have no idea who you're really up against. We're going to put an end to this, Ikuchi. I can promise you that!" Sinon's voice rose in volume.

The stomping of footsteps followed after me just like I wanted. A second later, the motion detector on the grenade beeped and the subsequent blast left my ears ringing and drowned out Sunglasses' surprised shouting. I circled around and ran right back just as he came limping out of the resulting cloud of dust. Dozens of bright red cuts covered his body along with bits of shrapnel sticking out of his right side.

He didn't catch sight of me until I was well within arms reach of him. His rifle was too unwieldy to get a good shot off, but I slapped it aside anyways and shoved the business end of my sawed-off into his pelvis, right where the protection of his kevlar vest ended. The gun belched, eviscerating him point black. Sunglasses' face went tight with discomfort, but I didn't stop. I hooked my ankle behind his calf, shoved him down to the ground, and emptied the other barrel right into his face.

It's not hard to imagine what a 12 gauge shell does to a man's head at close range. The mess left behind could pass for a Pollock painting.

I didn't stick around for longer than I needed to. Beretta came out of the shadows of the darkened lobby, the muzzles of his twin pistols flashing brighter than the lightning outside. I juked the incoming shots and dove into a roll, felt the ground crack as bullets meant for me split apart the tiled floor. Once my feet were back under me, I brought my MP7 to bear and scanned the lobby.

The man was nowhere to be found.

I stayed where I was and held my breath, straining my ears to listen for the slightest noise that seemed out of place much like how I'd done with Llenn back in the Wastelands, but the storm outside made it far more difficult. I idly noticed the explosions outside stopped and that Rei was breathing hard into her earpiece. Relief touched me briefly. At least she was okay for the time being. But it nearly cost me to listen to her. I almost didn't catch the scuffle of boots against the ground to my left. Or the sharp intake of breath.

I whirled around to see Beretta raise his pistols at me. My body acted on pure reflex, I jerked my head to one side and dove for his knees at the same moment his guns went off. A sharp, flashing pain drove itself through my shoulder, agitated even more as I rammed myself into his legs. We hit the ground hard and one of Beretta's pistols skittered away in the darkness

He may not have been much of a shooter, but Beretta knew a thing or two about fisticuffs. He moved fast, elbowing me in the temple and turning us over while I was stunned so that he was hovering over me, throwing punches and pistol whips aimed for my head. I covered myself with my arms as best as I could, every blow pounding against the meat of my forearms.

He apparently remembered he had a gun at some point during the scuffle because he stopped hitting me to raise the pistol between my eyes. I acted fast, grabbing it by the barrel, forcing it away as it fired it right next to my head, the blast so loud that I went deaf in that ear.

"Will you just die already?!" he roared, trying the wrench the gun from me. His other hand pushed down on my face, the cold ground scraping against my cheek as I fought against him, desperately trying to keep the gun away from me. I had to end it fast. He had all the advantages and if I spent any longer trying to defend myself, eventually he'd get it free.

It took me a split moment to come up with a plan. And once I had it, I growled, reared my free hand back, and smashed the heel of my palm into his chin, hard enough for his teeth to crack together. Beretta let out a pained groan. His body went limp for half a second. Long enough to throw him off and go for my submachine gun. We both rolled to our feet, raised our guns in the exact same moment, fired at the very same instant. But there was one critical thing that decided who lived and who died.

A spray of bullets beats a single shot.

My health dropped down to less than half. A slight burning sensation sprouted over my collarbone. Yet Beretta had it worse. His entire right arm was shredded. _Riddled_ with holes. The pistol fell uselessly to the ground, and he went down with it, clutching his ruined limb to his chest, his teeth bared at me as I stood up.

"Ikuchi, time's up!" he shouted.

I emptied the remainder of the magazine into his head.

As much as I wanted to take a breath, it wasn't an option. Ikuchi knew I was on my way, and with Sinon figuratively and possibly literally at his mercy, there wasn't a doubt in my mind he'd do whatever he thought was necessary to stop me.

And like the universe read my mind, Sinon let out a snarl of protest. "Get off me!"

I flew up the stairs and back into the elevator shaft, fear and anxiety weighing down on me like a pair of jumbo jets. As far down as I was from her, the chatter of gunfire came through as clear as day. Sinon was capable. She wasn't going down without a fight, but close quarters combat wasn't her strong suit. Sure, she'd bust some heads and perforate needle sized holes into Ikuchi's goons, but she couldn't do it forever. Eventually, she'd be overpowered.

That thought alone was enough to spur me on. I clambered back up the maintenance ladder so fast I lost my footing more than once, but it still felt like an eternity before I reached the third floor.

"Damn it!" Sinon protested. "Ikuchi's trying to cut me from the party. I don't have — "

Sinon's voice, and her health bar, disappeared. Gone. Like someone had cut a phone line.

I swallowed some very colorful words before they had a chance to make it past my lips and forced myself to go faster. Thunder rumbled again. Then just because I wasn't frustrated enough, so did the explosions. A puff of fire and smoke erupted from one of the floors above me, tossing debris and shards of concrete down the shaft.

The corrugated metal of the ladder groaned and wobbled. Some of the bolts holding it in place were blown free from the detonation, plummeting to the ground. One knocked me on the head on the way down. Because of course it did. I kept climbing, hand over hand, ignoring the throbbing coming from my skull. Faster. Faster. And faster.

Then I was weightless. The heat and fire came before the explosion that blasted me clear off the ladder. I didn't even have time to brace myself before the concussive force smashed me into the opposite wall like a bug on a windshield. Everything flashed white. Pain spread over my body, and then I was falling.

Somehow I managed to de-scramble my brain enough to reach for something, anything to stop myself. My fingers grabbed the rungs of the ladder again, which felt like a victory until physics kicked in. I swung down and slammed against the steel rungs hard enough crack my ribs and dislocate my arm had I done it in the real world. It slowed my fall. But it wasn't enough. I lost what little grip I had and the floor came rushing at me.

The impact hurt more than the explosion did. I felt like I'd been body slammed by a gorilla, pain so deep into my bones that it was almost numbing. Every inch of me cried out from the same dull ache.

I stared aimlessly up at the ceiling, motes of soot landing on my face. A little voice in the back of my head urged me to get up and away, but I was too out of it to do so much as sit up.

Smoke and fire choked the top floors of the hotel. A rain of sparks fell down, and the hideous whine of metal screeching reached my ears. The elevator carriage, the one that had been stuck at the top of the shaft, came hurtling down. Straight at me.

I desperately shoveled every ounce of effort into my limbs, down to the tiniest scrap, as the car accelerated down, throwing more sparks and bits of metal. My arms twitched and lifted off the ground a few inches, muscles screaming in protest, but I could tell just from that herculean effort that they wouldn't do anything more. So I did the only thing I could think of with a thousand pound carriage seconds away from crushing me. I threw my weight to one side in an awkward, slow roll straight out of the elevator shaft.

The carriage crashed to the floor a second later. I've heard car collisions that were more quiet. Dust, smoke, and pieces of metal showered over me. When I looked back, the entire thing had been destroyed by the fall. The walls were caved in, the ceiling was in pieces, and fires burned inside, eating away at what was left. But I made it. I was still alive.

And I was exhausted. Most people aren't exactly full of energy after surviving an explosion, a multi-story fall, and an incoming elevator carriage. Throw in a three on one gunfight as a warmup and practically everyone would be down for the count. I was running on fumes.

"C'mon, me. Bad guys don't stop for time-outs," I muttered to myself. I drew what pitiful amount of strength I had left and managed to prop myself up by my elbows, then curled my knees to start the monumental task of standing back up. The process was tedious and sent a fresh wave of aching sensations through me, but I managed to get myself upright. By the time I could reliably trust myself to not fall on my face, the explosions outside stopped and the only noise came from the storm billowing as strong as ever.

"Master?"

I whirled around towards a metal service door tucked away in the corner. Rei had it partially opened with her head sticking out, looking from left to right, most likely scanning the area.

"Oh thank god, you're alright. Where's Sinon? What happened, and where've you been?" I asked. Instead of answering, Rei swung the door open all the way and stepped out. Hecate was hanging on her back.

"Sinon found me when everything was blowing up. I thought we were going to go downstairs but then she got this really serious look on her face then she pushed me into a closet with her sniper. She told me to be really quiet like this," Rei put a finger against her lips. "She closed the door and left. I wanted to help, I did! But I was supposed to be really quiet so I didn't know what to do. Then everything started shaking again and then it stopped and then I left to find you because I couldn't find Sinon anywhere."

I absorbed everything she said and chewed on it for a bit. It made sense. In a confrontation, the large, heavy gun wouldn't do Sinon any favors, not in a closed environment. I wouldn't have put it past Ikuchi to try to steal Hecate from her if he had the chance either. So she left it with Rei instead, probably hoping she'd get it back when things were in her favor again.

Then she got captured, and Ikuchi must have coordinated with the guys shooting RPGs to try and slow me down long enough to make a clean getaway. But where would he take her?

He'd put Sinon somewhere secure. Interrogate her, maybe. Find out what I took from the vault. And if that didn't work, they could still use her as a bargaining chip to get me to do what they wanted or to lure me in.

She'd be a hostage.

Or a human shield.

I glared at nothing and furiously ran a hand over my hair. Ikuchi was using her to get to me. Christ, he _kidnapped_ her just for a shot at me. People don't just do something like that. Bad enough that he came after me, but kidnapping Sinon to that end was crossing a line he damn well shouldn't have crossed.

A familiar surge of protectiveness crashed against me, stronger than ever before. Sinon was my best friend. More importantly, she was the girl I cared about. The girl I confessed my feelings to. If Ikuchi even thought about hurting her, I'd tear him limb from limb. It didn't matter if he and his flunkies were SAO survivors, I'd declare war on all of them.

Yes, there are times where it's better to negotiate and take the high road. But there are also times where you have to take the gloves off to deliver a well deserved beat down several weeks overdue.

"So that's how he wants to do this. Fine. I'll play his damn game. Rei, let's go, we're getting Sinon back," I stomped down the stairs back to the lobby, utterly ignoring the aching protest coming from my everything.

"B-But aren't they going to expect that? They could be setting up a trap," Rei said.

"Oh they absolutely are, but it's only a trap if the other guy isn't expecting it. They're not the only ones who know how to be clever," I tossed a glance at the receptionist desk, where the bricks of C4 were still waiting to be used. I opened my menu and after a few taps, the entire pile of explosives disappeared into my inventory.

Rei followed me to the front entrance, taking a few quick steps every so often to catch up with my longer strides. "I want to come too. If Master is determined to do this, then I'll do everything I can to support him. Sinon helped me tons. It's my turn to help her."

I turned to her. "You sure?"

"Absolutely."

I tilted my head forward and looked her square in the eye. "Listen, this is different than dealing with NPC's. When it comes to a fight, human players are a hell of a lot tougher than your average security bot. Smarter too," I paused and gave a little shrug. "Most of the time anyways. But still, we need to lay some ground rules. No unnecessary risks, no fighting the bad guys until my say so, and if things get hairy, I want you to run away as fast as you can."

"But — "

I held up a hand, speaking firmly, "We can't let Ikuchi know about you. If he learns about your existence, then everything Sinon sacrificed herself for would be in vain. Leave me behind if you have to, I'll go it alone, but getting to safety is your number one priority. Go back to Glocken, in my apartment preferably. Understood?"

Rei swallowed, but managed to keep the resolve on her face. "Understood. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Now c'mon. We got to hustle," I stepped out into the street, into the raging storm that pelted my body with fat raindrops that soaked my clothes. I shivered violently, then rolled down the sleeves of my jacket.

Outnumbered in a ruined city by a superior force with no back up, no contingencies, and no idea where they took my partner. The leader of said superior force had an axe to grind with me, and was fully prepared to resort to drastic measures to see me broken and beaten at his feet. The bump on my head hurt like hell. And it was still storming.

I squinted up at the dark grey clouds, and realized that none of it mattered to me. Ikuchi figured he'd be able to toy with me, he thought he'd just come in and take what he wanted, to hell with the consequences. But what goes around comes around.

If he wanted me to take him seriously, then I'd fucking oblige him.


	18. Headhunters: Chapter 18

**This chapter was going to be longer, but with the semester winding down, I've had another heap of papers to write. So I figured that I'd rather get this out now rather than have you guys wait till the end of the decade for it. Because y'all are worth it. Thank you sincerely for the love you've all shown me! I couldn't ask for anything more.**

* * *

Chapter 18

I didn't waste any time hunting down Yokai, and apparently neither did they.

The garbage truck I hid behind screamed as bullets bounced off it, sparks and bent pieces of metal flying amongst the torrent of raindrops. I crouched down, one hand on the ground, the other holding my Oroshi Nine, and waited until there was a lull in gunfire to lean out of cover. I snapped off a few shots at one of the two figures standing behind an abandoned car further down the street. The car's back windshield shattered. A half-second later, bright red blood spurted from one man's shoulder, forcing him to hunker back down before I could get another chance to tag him.

Two other Yokai were coming around to my left to flank me while I was pinned down. If I were alone, it would be a cause for concern, but as it stood, I only changed my tactics.

"Rei, suppressing fire on the two behind the car. On my go," I said into my earpiece

"Roger that, Master!"

Slapping in a fresh magazine, I looked up and to my right and saw Rei, her cloak billowing behind her against the powerful winds, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, hunting rifle in hand. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but admire it for a minute. She may not have been the picture of a highly efficient killer, but she sure moved like one, making each jump as effortlessly as the last before she dropped to a slide on one knee to the edge of the roof overlooking the parked car.

She was in position. The two Yokai members hadn't noticed her either. I stowed my pistol in exchange for the MP7 and shouted, "Go!"

Rei's let loose with a volley of gunshots. At the same time, I kept low and dashed out from behind the garbage truck, using the other cars on the street as cover. The two Yokai shouted at each other, their words completely muted to my ears thanks to the raging storm, but the sound of their guns firing was hard to miss.

I crouched down in front of a rusted sedan parked right up against the concrete divider that separated both halves of the street. Boots scraped against the wet asphalt, the sound barely audible over the rain and gunshots. Then an armored figure loomed over me as it passed. He didn't notice me. I fired a hail of burning lead into his leg just as he took a step with it and the joint made a sickening crack as it came down.

That much weight coming down on a broken limb meant that his center of gravity had to go somewhere. The Yokai stumbled forward, too shocked to make a noise, arms flailing to try and grab something to stop his fall. I lunged and rammed my shoulder into him, knocking him into another car while I dropped to one knee and fired a spray of bullets into the Yokai that was behind him. He never stood a chance. His lifeless corpse fell without so much as a twitch.

I whirled around in time to see the first Yokai lying on the ground and pulling his pistol free from its holster. He got it up by a few inches before the bottom of my boot slammed down on his wrist, pinning it to the car door behind him. He grunted, tried to pull it free, and got nowhere. Then he opened his mouth, probably to call for help, and I stopped him cold with a clean, final shot to the forehead.

Running at a breakneck pace, I headed for the two Yokai that Rei was distracting and stopped at the driver side of an SUV, poking my head up over the hood. The men were dead ahead and both of them were too preoccupied returning fire at Rei to even consider looking in my direction, until one of them started laying down suppressing fire of their own, the other moving towards the garbage truck where I used to be. Rei yelped and I saw her retreat from the roof's edge.

No time to waste. I went for the one still hiding behind the car.

He didn't notice me coming until I was a few meters away. When he did, he swung his rifle towards me — trying to orient his aim correctly — but it cost him precious seconds, and I sprayed a hail of automatic gunfire into him. He flopped over, dead.

His partner whirled around to face me, eyes wide, realizing he'd been flanked. Rei chose that moment to pop back out of cover with her rifle leveled, taking care to line up her shot. It clapped once and the bullet lodged itself into the bend of his leg, blowing out his kneecap from behind.

The man fell down with a scream. I crossed the distance in a full on sprint and kicked the assault rifle out of his hands before he could use it, sending it skating over the asphalt towards the street median.

"Need to ask you a few questions," I hissed as I grabbed his uninjured leg. There was an open garage a few feet away that I dragged him into; he clawed at the ground the whole way there, trying to kick himself free while cussing me out, presumably to hurt my feelings. "Good shot, Rei. Stay where you are, warn me if anyone else comes my way," I whispered.

The garage was mostly empty, dark, and stank of oil, grease, and old gasoline. Once I got the man inside, I planted a knee against the small of his back and twisted his arm behind his back. He howled, thrashing about like a madman, but he didn't have the leverage to do anything more. Subduing him was about as difficult as manhandling a toddler.

"Ow, fuck man, lay off!" he hissed under his breath. He was a tall guy, and now that I was close enough to get a decent look at him, I could make out the finer details. The rain had matted his bright blue hair over dark, contemptuous eyes. He wore a bomber jacket and forest camo pants stained with mud, and a long, wicked looking scar ran down the left side of his face.

I wrenched his arm behind his back a little more, enough to make him yelp, "Just reminding you not to do anything rash. They warned you about me, didn't they? Ikuchi didn't put millions of credits on my head just because he thought it was cute."

He raised his upper lip in a subdued scowl. Being done in by a guy a head shorter than him must have been causing him all sorts of grief.

Funny thing, I could have killed him. It wouldn't have even taken much effort on my part, just a twitch and he'd be gone, but it wouldn't get me anything. Ikuchi had all but vanished after he took Sinon and when I checked the area around the hotel for a sign of where he went, I came up with a big fat bowl of nothing. I should have expected as much, really. I'm no career kidnapper, but generally it's a good idea to get away from the place you did the abducting. But without the faintest idea of his whereabouts, I was forced to the only thing I could do: finding his boys before they found me, and hope like hell they'd lead me to him.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Screw you."

"Okay, Screw You, I'm going to make this real short and clear," I told him. "Ikuchi. Where is he?"

"I don't know!"

"That's what they all say."

"I'm serious, I don't know! I'm joined them a couple weeks ago, man, right when I started playing this game. They don't tell me nothing. Just to look for you, take you prisoner, that's it!"

I scowled. Screw You could have been lying, but I couldn't say for sure. Assuming he wasn't, that made him the new blood, and he was right in that regard — you don't tell guys like him anything more important beyond his orders. The only option I had to be sure about Ikuchi's whereabouts was to go above him, to his superiors. If anybody knew where he was, it'd be them.

"If you did catch me, what then? Where would you have taken me? Back to the guy calling the shots?" I asked.

"Not saying," he barked back.

"Change your answer."

Screw You shook his head. I ground my teeth together.

"Fine, I'll figure it out myself," I drew my knife out of its sheath and his eyes widened. The blade punctured the wrist of the arm I had behind his back with disturbing ease, and he cried out in sudden shock and discomfort. The entire hand went limp, twitching, the tendons severed and useless. I took hold of his hand and pushed all the fingers down into a loose fist except one.

GGO, and VRMMO games in general, always used the hands when it needed to perform basic UI mechanics like opening a menu. It was simply the most convenient and natural means of doing so. But it came with a severe, potentially fatal flaw. The game recognized your motions clear as crystal, but who exactly was doing it? That's where it got muddy. To the game system, it's all the same, whether you were doing the motion yourself or if someone was forcing it. Manipulating someone else's hand had been done before in the past with deadly results. Sinon getting cut from the party back at the hotel was no doubt a recent example of the dirty trick.

I lifted Screw You's hand slightly and dragged the finger over empty air. His menu opened, his name displayed at the top.

"Yanari? You mean to tell me you were lying about your name?" I asked.

"Fuck you."

I ignored his eloquent comeback and used his hand to flip through his messages, most of which weren't terribly useful, until I found one sent to him by a man named Nue, dated to just a couple hours ago, around the time Sinon and I met up at the hotel.

 _Sinon spotted in Old South. Report to the northern end of the zone. We'll set up a basecamp in the city and delegate tasks from there._

"Nue, huh? He the one in charge of you?" I didn't wait for an answer. Instead, I wrote him a message. Hard to do with someone else's finger, but I managed. If Yanari wasn't going to cough up Nue's location, I'd make the man himself do it.

 _boss, caught sinon's dimwitted partner. bring him to ya?_ I typed out, even adding in a bit of self-deprecation on my part. That'll reel him in.

The reply came quicker than I expected.

 _Awesome work, Yanari. Bring him back to basecamp. We'll escort him from there._

I wrote back, _uh where it is again? still getting used to this place and i got turned around._

"Come on, man. I just joined this group. Don't mess things up with them," Yanari said as he squirmed in place.

"Sorry? I couldn't hear you over the storm. You wanted to mess them up? Super, me too."

A new message appeared. It was a set of coordinates. Beneath it, it read, _Hurry it up. Word from the boss is that Sinon's being a handful. Waira is dead and she almost killed Gozu too during one of her little escape attempts. She'll calm down once we got her friend here._

I felt a surge of vindictive pride from that. Sinon was stubborn to an impressive degree. She may have been captured, but she sure wasn't sitting around making things easy for them.

I opened my map and followed the coordinates Nue gave me. They pointed me to a small courtyard surrounded on all sides by a group of buildings just south of the center of town, a few blocks away. It was a damn good spot, I had to admit. The buildings were tall and the two points of entry there were consisted of alleyways; concealed, easily defendable, and almost certain to be monitored. Yokai would turn those alleyways into choke points if they saw me coming, which they almost certainly would. Attacking them head on would be a fool's errand. My best bet was to sneak in, using a distraction to draw any potential attention away from me. From there, I take whoever's inside by surprise, isolate Nue, then get him to fess up to Ikuchi's location. Easy peasy.

"Rei, saddle up. We're moseying on out," I whispered, pulling the knife from Yanari's wrist. He winced and bucked wildly under me.

"You're not gonna make it. Nue's got a whole squad with him, you're outnumbered," he said through bared teeth.

"Funny, I just can't find it in me to give a damn."

Yanari whipped his head around to watch me out of the corner of his eye. "So what? You gonna drag me in there with you? Hope to use me as a shield? Not gonna work."

"Wasn't planning on it," I said. He couldn't get another word out before the blade of my knife slid right through the base of his skull and into his brain. He twitched once, twice. Then he went still with hardly a breath. I left his disintegrating corpse in the garage and headed out.

"What are we doing now, Master?" Rei asked.

"Moving up the ladder. Yanari had nothing worthwhile, but maybe his leader will. We'll head to his place and shake him down. Might give us something useful," I opened my menu and wrote out a quick message to her containing the coordinates Nue sent me. "I need you head north of the group of buildings marked on these coordinates and set up a sniper's perch. When I give you the go, start shooting. Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter at who. Just make a lot of noise until the Yokai starts getting curious."

"O-Okay. I can definitely do that," Rei said.

I stopped, fingers drumming against my thighs. "Are you sure?" I asked her gently.

Rei took a second longer to respond. "Yes. Yes, absolutely. It's my job as your ArFA-Sys!"

"Alright. I'm heading south of those coordinates I gave you so we're going to have to split up. Radio me once your in position," I said, then went down the street in a light jog. Rei's brief hesitation worried me. Part of me felt awful for what I was putting her through. I doubt she knew what she was getting into when I became her master. She probably expected heart-pounding hunts and exciting dungeon raids. You know, things you'd usually do in a video game. Not an afternoon spent crawling around the dark corners of a stormy city like a mouse trying to avoid the cat.

It wasn't her fault. Or mine. The guilt gnawed at me anyways.

As I strode down one of Old South's many streets, I noticed the odd monster watching me from afar, from inside a building or underneath a tree. They all kept their distance. GGO players weren't the only ones who would look for shelter from the heavy downpour. Most other monsters did too, advertised as dynamic animal behavior or some such. Monsters were affected by the weather and acted accordingly, changing their behaviors or their hunting patterns. Neat, but it came with a caveat. Not all monsters hide from the rain. I kept a hand hovering over my sawed-off just in case. The last thing I needed was a pack of wolves, ghouls, or some other group of nasties picking me as their next meal.

It took me about ten minutes to reach a stopping point a block away from where the basecamp was. I ducked underneath the awning of a blown out café to get out of the rain. Rei hadn't checked in yet and I idly flicked my eyes down to my clothes while I waited. They were heavier and a couple shades darker after being drenched in the storm for almost half an hour. I hadn't noticed it when I was fighting, but the stern wind was making me shiver slightly, too. Stupid virtual temperature.

"I'm ready to go, Master. Just say the word!" Rei chirped over my earpiece a few minutes later. I nodded to myself and ventured into the alley proper, where the tall heights of the buildings on either side of me provided decent enough protection from the rain and howling winds. I dropped into a low crouch behind a dumpster when I heard voices coming from further in. Two men, as far as I could tell.

"Her boytoy causing us this much grief? Ikuchi's gonna have some words for him once he's there. That is if he doesn't run him through with his sword first," One of them said, his voice a deep basso. I didn't recognize it.

"I guess. But man, wouldn't we be better off if we got him to join us? Save us a lot of effort, and we'd get another guy in the ranks," said the other. He sounded half-asleep, but I could tell he wasn't someone I knew either. Just how many guys did Yokai have?

"The boss tried. Didn't take. He's too wrapped around Sinon's finger."

"Shit. She's that thorough, huh? Guess I can't blame her. A lot of guys in GGO would be tripping all over themselves to get in good with her."

"You can say that again."

"How's Ikuchi going to get her to talk anyway? It's not like he can do anything serious to her, being in a game and all."

"He's got a trick up his sleeve. He wouldn't have ordered this hit if he didn't have it all figured out. Watch, she's going to be begging to leave GGO after this is all over."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, tried to quell the rising anger, worry, and hate simmering deep down inside me. Nothing they said made me feel any better about Sinon being in Ikuchi's clutches. If he had a way of getting to her, of _hurting_ her, then I couldn't screw around. I needed to end things. Fast. I poked my head out. Two men in body armor stood at the other end of the alley, leaning their backs against the walls, facing each other. They were the lookouts, I assumed. They had to go.

"Rei, do it," I whispered harshly.

A second later, a gunshot that could have been mistaken for thunder for how loud it was boomed through the air. Something exploded. Glass shattered. I heard concrete fall apart and crash into the streets followed by the startled shouts of Yokai coming from the courtyard.

Rei whimpered over my earpiece with a pained, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Wh-what the hell was that?" I sputtered.

"Sinon's rifle really hurts to shoot. Ack, I can't feel my arm," Rei said. My lips peeled back in a vicious grin. Sinon left Hecate with her, and there was hardly a gun on the server more loud and attention-grabbing than the one made to tear through armored cars like they were paper. I peeked around the dumpster again. Six men, including the two in front of me, ran the opposite direction, towards the alley on the other side of the courtyard that led to the street further beyond. The flaming remains of an ancient sedan burned in the middle of the road, metal twisting and blackening under the intense heat, and oil leaking out from underneath it.

"You're freaking amazing, Rei. Are you alright?"

"Just a sore muscle, I'll be okay. Go take them down, Master," she said. A moment later she added, "There's a guy with a beret shouting at the others. He might be Nue."

I saw him among the crowd gathering around the car. He was lean and well built, and his body armor was light enough to give him full range of motion. He turned to the others while barking orders, pointing from left to right, directing the other Yokai members to sweep the area with deliberate efficiency.

I moved low and fast, clearing the length of the alley in the time it took me to take a breath. A few Yokai members were still loitering around the courtyard, one leaning against an empty brick planter, the other checking his guns on one of the long foldable tables scattered about. I ducked behind a nearby stone bench and looked around.

Someone had set up a tarp over one section of the courtyard, the rain hitting it in a sluice before falling off the sides in little rivulets. Underneath it was an actual working pickup truck, it's engine purring like new. Vehicles in GGO were few and far between out in the wilds. I'd never driven one myself despite playing the game for months.

The tinted windows made it hard to see if the cab was empty, so I just had to hope no one was inside to catch me sneaking about.

Nue walked back into the courtyard with all the cool composure of a rabid spider monkey, the vein on his forehead pulsing with every heavy breath he took. "Nurikabe, Kijo, Kasha, get moving already, we got company."

The Yokai in the courtyard stood at attention. One of them carried a mean looking SPAS-12 and started walking right past the bench I hid behind. I readied my knife and tensed up like a viper ready to strike, not even daring to take a breath as his footsteps came closer. I didn't see the man so much as I felt his presence less than two feet from me. The rain came down harder in a constant dull roar, wind howled through the narrow passages of the courtyard, whipping the tarp about like a living thing. Nobody would hear a thing.

I wrapped an arm around the Yokai's neck and dragged him up and over the bench, clasping a hand over his mouth as he tried to scream for help. He fell to the ground next to me and had just enough awareness to watch me slash his throat.

Quick, clean, done. He died in three seconds flat.

I was already on the move again while his body disappeared. That's the wonderful thing about VRMMO's. No evidence.

"Shit, something happened to Nurikabe. His health just dropped!" Someone in the courtyard said with increasing alarm.

Oh. Right. He was in a party. His friends could see his health bar. Okay, some evidence.

Keeping low in a crouched run, I snatched an empty magazine off a table as I passed by it, catching sight of two Yokai moving left, towards the alley I had come in from, their weapons raised and scanning from side to side. To my right was the lonely pickup truck, a drizzle of rainwater hitting its hood from the tarp above it.

I hurled the magazine end over end where it banged against a metal trash can on the other side of the courtyard. Both of the Yokai turned their weapons on it, one of them cursing, and I rushed around to get behind them, knife in hand.

The first one didn't hear me once I was behind him. A quick plunge of the knife into the side of his neck destroyed his throat and he collapsed with nothing more than a confused gurgle.

The second Yokai, a man with shoulder length blonde hair, hunched his shoulders with a loud, "What the fuck? Are you — "

He turned around just as I started to rush him. His face twisted in surprise and the little TMP his hands started spitting lead before he even pointed it at me, utterly destroying any chance I had of keeping my cover. Bullets tore up the cobblestone ground, but I managed to move fast enough to pin his arm between our bodies before he could properly ventilate me. He dug his heels into the ground to push me off, shouting and screaming and generally alerting everyone in earshot where I was. I drove the knife right through his wrist and he howled. The gun fell from his limp hand and being so thoroughly disarmed, he could do nothing as I brought the blade back around to cut his unprotected throat with a single swipe.

I swear I'm not an unhinged serial killer in training, it's just easier to go for the neck. Honest.

More shouting came from the streets, the sound of boots stomping growing ever closer, loud enough to be heard over beating storm. Then the first Yokai entered the courtyard, his military-grade rifle at the ready. It snapped to my head and in my infinite knowledge and bottomless wisdom I decided the best thing to do would be to duck.

I dropped down at the crack of a gunshot. The air rippled a few inches above the tips of my hair, and then a second and third rifle joined in as I flopped over into an awkward side roll to take cover behind a brick planter. Bits of masonry and dried mortar were sheared off in the unrelenting assault and I curled up as small as I possibly could, getting my submachine ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Then the moment came, a short break of gunfire. I popped out of cover, sighting down my MP7 at one of the four Yokai as he reloaded, and the little gun chattered six times in under a second, the recoil drawing a line of gunshot wounds from his stomach up to his ribcage. He winced, but instead of going down, he rushed to hide behind the pickup truck next to him as his other three pals corrected their aim to bring down another hail of gunfire on my head.

I couldn't stay long. They'd have me pinned down and killed if I didn't move. "Rei, if you have a shot on any of them, take it. I need to cover fire," I said, jerking my head down as the air sizzled with dozens of bullets again.

"Roger that," she said, her tone slightly pained. The recoil on Sinon's sniper must have really done a number on her. I heard her take a little breath, then another crack came, one more flat and smaller than the monster roar belonging to Hecate. Less than an instant later, a Yokai still standing in the mouth of the alley jerked forward, a spray of pixelated blood spurting out from the back of his head. His two pals next to him cursed and took their eyes off me, frantically searching for the new threat, and I seized the opportunity to sprint out into the open, the storm masking my steps as I moved towards the truck where the third was hiding. He came out of cover in a run, but apparently he didn't count on us running into each other. He ran right into me and I socked him hard in the face.

Momentum plus wind-up equals one hell of a punch. His head snapped back and he all but flopped to the ground in a groaning daze. I took aim and two quick bursts from my MP7 put him down for good.

"Behind!" one of the other Yokai shouted. I looked to my left, over the hood of the pick-up. Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum turned their attention back to me, and I took cover behind the pick-up, slapping a fresh magazine into my gun, awaiting the inevitable hail of gunfire. But it didn't come. I crouched down, peered underneath the truck, and saw two pairs of boots moving around both ends of the truck, trying to pin me on both sides in a classic pincer maneuver. I couldn't have that. I dropped into a prone position and crawled underneath the truck. It wasn't exactly roomy, but it'd serve its purpose.

By the time I fully completed my disappearing act, both Yokai finished their circle around the truck. They stopped, turning in a slow circle, looking for me. "Watch yourself. This guy could be hiding anywhere," one of them said.

One of the pairs of boots moved away while the other stopped in front of what I assumed to be the truck's backseat window. "Hey, are you gonna help or not?"

I didn't hear anyone reply to him, but he muttered something under his breath and said, "Fine. Suit yourself. And you wonder why nobody wants to keep you around."

I frowned and rolled over onto my side, extending the stock out of my MP7 and aiming right at the Yokai's ankles. In the confined space I was in, the blast would be like sharing a closet with a lit firecracker, but I didn't have much of a choice.

Taking a slow, steady breath, I pulled the trigger. The gun kicked in my hands with a deafening cry so loud it rattled my skull and left my ears ringing. The sound almost drowned out the man screams as he hit the floor, clutching his ruined legs. I adjusted the gun's stock against my shoulder, aiming again. Another squeeze of the trigger put him down for good.

I scrambled out from underneath the truck as the last Yokai spun around to see his friend disappear in a shower of pixels, then his stone grey eyes turned to me, jaw working. He didn't move a muscle.

Rei cried, "Master!" Her rifle popped again, and my eyes widened. It suddenly occurred to me that I'd forgotten someone.

Nue.

I turned around. Nue charged out of the nearby alleyway, moving fast despite the glowing red bullet wound in the center of his chest. He reared his shotgun back with a wordless shout of challenge, intending to hit me with the butt of the gun. I turned my body to the side as the blow meant for my face connected to my raised shoulder, a flash of dull pain blooming. Nue was stronger than he looked. The sheer strength of his attack sent me stumbling back a few good paces. I managed to regain my balance in time to throw my back hard against the truck's passenger door as Nue fired a shell at the spot I'd been less than a few feet away.

He worked the pump on his shotgun. I reached for my sawed-off, yanking it out of its holster.

Then I heard a noise I didn't quite expect: the sound of the truck's backseat window rolling down. Nue looked just as confused as I did. He peered over my shoulder at whoever was inside and said, "What the hell are you — "

A flurry of gunshots, loud and fast, popped off next to my ear. Red wounds the size of coins erupted over his body. They weren't the least bit precise, some on his chest, others on his legs, and even more on the building behind him, but at such a close range, with such a fast rate of fire, it didn't matter much. Nue fell back, motionless.

Surprise took a backseat to action. Motion caught my eye and I brought my MP7 to bear as the last Yokai came around to face me. I fired, and pelted him with lead from his neck up to his head, his entire body jerking and collapsing without a sound.

I breathed hard and fast, listening for anyone else coming, muscles tense and ready to move. A couple of heartbeats passed, then once I was sure it was clear, I relaxed and turned around to see who was inside the truck. I recognized her immediately.

"Serena," I murmured.

Serena sat in the backseat, her Uzi in her lap, smoke wafting from the muzzle. "Hey. Long time no see," she said. She attempted to put on a smile, but it crumbled the moment she tried. She turned her eyes to the gun in her lap. She looked like she was going to hurl. "Ugh, God how do you do this all day? Shooting other people — this game is way too messed up."

She tossed the gun over to the seat next to her, disgust on her face. She was dressed in the exact same clothes from when I last saw her. Dark red turtleneck, trendy pink jacket, dark jeans, all complemented by a sweet, fruity perfume that caressed the senses. Once upon a time, I would have been entranced by the intoxicating scent. I couldn't say the same now.

"I need to find your brother. Tell me where he is," I urged, stepping towards her. She reeled back in surprise from my sudden demand.

"What are you —,"

I sliced a hand through the air, effectively cutting her off. "Now!" I snapped. "I'm running out of time. Sinon took the blame for the trick we pulled on him and now he's going to do God knows what to her unless I stop him."

"Wha — But that's crazy. He can't do anything bad to her. We're in a game. Don't they have like, safeties and stuff?" Serena asked.

"He thinks he can, and that's reason enough for me," I grit my teeth. "Serena, I don't have time to debate this with you. Do you know where he is or not?"

She grimaced and leaned over from the back, opening the passenger side door before climbing into the driver's seat. "Get in, I'll talk about it on the way."

I did. Serena took control of the truck and drove the hulking vehicle around and through the alley, maneuvering past obstacles like it was second nature. Once we were out into the street, she spared a glance at the burning sedan in the middle of the road.

"Wait right here," I said. Serena brought us to a smooth stop and I said, "I'm in the truck, Rei. You can get in the back."

Serena raised a brow at me, then she looked over and saw Rei in her cloak bounding over to us from the shadow of the building across the street. She climbed into the backseat and yanked the hood off her head. Serena watched her through the rearview mirror, but didn't say anything.

"So, where is he?" I asked, wiping the rainwater off my face.

Serena took us down the road, a pained look on her face, "Uh, Royal Gallery Mall. The rest of the squad is there with him and they barricaded all the entrances so that Sinon couldn't get out if she tried to run again."

I nodded, stone-faced. "How many?"

"Ikuchi, Gozu, Mezu, and uh, let me think," Serena paused to wipe her forehead, "Twenty, Twenty-five maybe."

"Great," I muttered. It might as well have been an army for all the odds it gave me. Royal Gallery Mall was a big place, three stories tall with a large rotunda on the north end, plenty of dark nooks and crannies for Ikuchi to set up shop and station his men. What's worse is they've had plenty of time to dig in and fortify the place. Even if I did manage to get inside, it'd take me a lot longer to find Sinon than it would for them to swarm me. Suicide wouldn't even begin to describe how stupid it would be to face them head on.

"What's worse is that Ikuchi seems to think he has a way to break Sinon. Did you hear about that?" Serena asked.

"Heard some of Ikuchi's boys talking about it. A trick up his sleeve," I turned to face Serena. "Wouldn't happen to know what that was, would you?"

She worked her jaw from side to side. "Yeah, he showed me something before we came over here. He said it was a last resort, in case she wouldn't help or something like that."

"Wait, he only showed you? Why?" I asked.

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. I guess he trusts me or something."

"Bad decision, that," I said. "So, what's this silver bullet he has on her?"

"A gun. Some cheap looking thing, with a star on the grip," Serena paused then said, "He called it a Type 54. The Black Star."

I furrowed my brow. "How's that supposed to get to her?"

"Beats me. He just said that it would. That it would show her just how weak she was."

I chewed on my lip, thinking furiously. During my time playing GGO, I became familiar with a number of assorted guns and weaponry, but the Black Star wasn't one of them. I knew the very basics, at least. It was a handgun, Chinese-made and fairly old, but that was as far as my knowledge went and it wasn't nearly enough to give me an idea of what Ikuchi planned to use it for. If he planned to kill her with it, why not just stab her with his photon sword and save himself the trouble of getting some ancient handgun?

I shook my head and derailed that train of thought. Killing her wouldn't serve his purposes. Death wasn't permanent here. She'd just respawn back in Glocken, safe and sound. Ikuchi would lose all the leverage he had against me if he killed her.

Which brought me back to square one. Why use the Black Star, specifically?

"I'm looking at this from the wrong angle," I whispered to myself. If Serena heard me, she didn't show it as she drove the truck into a tunnel, shrouding us in pure blackness where creatures I couldn't see scraped the concrete with their claws and growled their displeasure at us intruding on their territory. Something took a swipe at the truck's side, metal squealing, sparks flying. Serena cringed, but managed to keep the truck under control.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Zerker, probably," I murmured, but didn't feel like offering an explanation beyond that. I had to keep my focus on putting the pieces together. "The gun as a weapon isn't important. He's gotta be using it for something else."

But what? Ikuchi wasn't one for simply beating her. That wouldn't satisfy him. He wanted Sinon out of Gun Gale Online completely. To put her legend to rest. Make her see how weak she really was. Hell, he kept bringing up her encounter with Death Gun just to rattle her.

A flash of insight. A sudden, sharp epiphany ramrodded itself front and center in my mind. I followed the thread, remembered everything Ikuchi ever said about ousting Sinon, and one by one, everything fell into place.

"Son of a —," I grimaced. "Death Gun used the Black Star."

"What? How do you know?" Serena asked.

"I don't. It's a working theory, but it adds up. That whole business with Death Gun is the one thing Ikuchi's used against her consistently. Only now he's using the pistol Death Gun pointed at her, the gun he tried to kill her with," I said, shaking my head. "Sinon came close to dying to that murderer. If she has a bad reaction to the Black Star," I let the sentence hang in the air.

"She might…" Serena scratched at her cheek in a little nervous gesture, "Do whatever it takes to not go through that again, right? She'll give him the information he wants."

"Think long term. Think about what he could do knowing that Sinon is afraid of the Black Star. He'd use it against her constantly — make her panic hard enough that the AmuSphere's safeties would force a log-off. Every. Single. Time," I jabbed a finger against the dashboard with every word, "Nothing would stop him from spreading that information either. If everyone in Glocken knew her weakness, GGO wouldn't be safe for her anymore. It'd become exactly what Ikuchi told her it would be: a place of pain."

"This is insane," Serena said to herself. I was hard pressed to disagree with her. "He isn't really capable of doing something like that, right?"

"At this point, anything is possible for him. But damn it, I don't want to think about it," I muttered. The thought of Ikuchi making Sinon have some sort of panic attack made me nauseous. If that power-tripping megalomaniac hurt her...

A long, heavy pause fell between us until the truck came out of the tunnel into the center of Old South. Much like the downtown you'd find in any city in the real world, the place was a forest of steel skyscrapers and the roads were congested with abandoned cars, trucks, and random debris that made driving through a challenge of its own. Serena grimaced and took the truck over the curb to cut around a particularly crowded intersection, then weaved past several unfinished roadwork sites.

All the while I was stewing in my own impatience. Our speed was cut down significantly, right when it was absolutely needed, and it bothered the hell out of me. I was losing precious time. For all I knew, Ikuchi was subjecting Sinon to her own vicious memories of Death Gun _right now_. My mind raced with thousands of awful possibilities. I tried to shut them out, but I couldn't. They were burning themselves into my brain, one horrible, permanent image after another. I was letting her down with every passing second. Sinon threw herself into harm's way for me and I was _failing_ her.

"Are you holding up okay?" Serena questioned. I balled my hands into fists, my fingernails digging into my palms hard enough to almost draw blood.

"Why are you asking?"

Serena flicked her golden eyes at me for a half-second. "You're not looking too hot," she said carefully.

"That happens when your psycho brother intends to hurt someone I care about," I said, my voice bitter.

Serena cringed. "Do you really have to call him that? He's just, y'know, going through a hard time."

"Serena, I don't know if you noticed, but Ikuchi fell off the deep end a while ago," I spat. "There's putting a bounty on my head and then there's kidnapping my best friend to traumatize her. Those two points are _miles_ away from each other."

"It's not…" Serena stopped herself then shook her head, her features sunken, withdrawn. "I didn't expect things to get this bad, okay?"

"Well now they are. We deal with what we got. If Ikuchi's going to sink this low, then I have to smack him down hard. Teach him a lesson."

"No, you don't. We're supposed to be helping him. He's a SAO survivor. He needs it," Serena said. "You're going to fulfill your promise, right?"

I pressed my lips together in a thin line, saying nothing.

The truck came to a sudden, screeching halt, and without a seatbelt on, I had to brace my forearm against the dashboard to keep from smashing my face into it. I turned, ready to glare at Serena, but she beat me to it.

"Are you serious?" Serena stared ice-cold daggers into me, and for the first time since I met her, genuine rage filled her voice.

"Things changed," I muttered. "Ikuchi's dug his own grave. Let him lie in it. I don't care anymore."

"What happened to your word? You swore it. I trusted you!" she said, slamming her fist against the steering wheel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rei wince.

"That was before Ikuchi resorted to this."

"And you think that makes it okay all of a sudden?" Serena said.

"What the hell do you expect me to do, snap my fingers and make everything okay?" I said, getting furious. "Ikuchi isn't in danger. Sinon is. I'm going to get her out of it. If your brother gets in the way of that, then it's on him."

"I can't believe you," she said, a sharp edge in her voice. "You're going to ignore everything you said to me? Throw away all that happened? I thought you were better than that."

I scowled at her, red-hot fury almost blinding me. "You don't _know_ me, Serena. Don't pretend you do. I'm doing what's right."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You only care about Sinon. You're not doing what's right, you're doing whatever you want."

By God, I almost said words I would have regretted if the last shreds of sanity didn't force me to look away from her. My head was killing me. I wanted to scream. Anger gnashed its teeth. Frustration howled for release. It was getting to be too much for me to bear. Too much stress was weighing on my shoulders.

Amidst the burning rage, something else slithered into my mind. A quieter, more insidious emotion. I recognized it for what it was.

Fear. Always the fear. Of failure, of doubt, of sorrow and guilt and regret, ugly things that crept at the corners of my consciousness, stained it black like tar too thick to wipe away. I could put on a brave face, make jokes and pretend everything was fine, but I could never erase the fear.

Fact of the matter is, we all have our weak points. People throwing themselves into the fire for me? Sacrificing their safety, their health, their lives? That was mine. It was a constant reminder that I wasn't good enough. Someone else had to suffer for my actions. I didn't want to carry that burden. Didn't want to be responsible for what happened to them. I would put myself on the line without hesitation, but someone doing it for me? I couldn't accept that. I was too afraid to.

Did it make me a hypocrite? Absolutely.

Sinon sacrificing herself scared the hell out of me. It wasn't the first time someone stuck their neck out for my sake. I didn't relish a repeat of the experience, even if it meant breaking a promise.

But that wasn't fair to Serena. She came to me for help. If I abandoned her, I'd be throwing my own principles out the window.

I looked up at the rearview mirror. Rei was looking out into the street, posture rigid, hands balled into fists on her lap. Her eyes were sick with worry.

What kind of example would I be setting for her if I went back on my word? I was her master. She'd look to me for guidance from now on.

And when I really thought on it, Sinon would tell me not to drop my word either. Even if it cost her in the end.

My frustration evaporated, replaced by shame crawling up my back. When I turned to look at her, Serena was staring straight ahead, her face remote.

"This has to stop," I told her, my voice low and tired. "I just want this whole mess to be over."

She blinked slowly. "I get that."

"And if something happens to Sinon because of me then I won't be able to live with myself. She doesn't deserve having her past dragged up like this."

"Yeah. And I want things to go back to the way they were before SAO."

"That isn't going to happen without a lot of pain," I said.

Serena finally looked at me and gave a sad, fragile smile. "I think we've gone past that point already."

"Fair enough," I relented. "Look, I...I'm sorry for lashing out at you. It was uncalled for."

She nodded, then took hold of the steering wheel, driving the truck down the street again. "Same. I know Sinon means a lot to you. You care about her right?"

"Extremely," I said.

"Same for me and Ikuchi. Nobody should get hurt because of this, I think," she said.

I blew out a breath, rolling my neck like a boxer getting ready for a fight. "So, we work together then?"

"Yeah."

"You okay back there?" I asked Rei.

She gave a hesitant nod. "So we're going to get Sinon back?"

"That's the plan," I said. I took a long, deep breath and collected my thoughts. "Okay, Ikuchi's gotten desperate. Anything less than complete retaliation isn't going to faze him," I turned to Serena and said. "I know you care about your brother and I won't break my promise to you, but we're playing for keeps this time. If it comes down to a fight, I can't and won't play around with him."

Serena gripped the steering wheel tighter and gave a stiff nod. "What are you going to do to him exactly?"

"That depends on what he does when we catch up to him. But I won't do anything extreme if that's what you're asking," I said.

"Good. So do you have like, an idea? It's gonna be hard to get to him," she said.

I turned in my seat, looking through the rear window at the empty truck bed. "A few, yeah. Just get us to the mall. We'll go from there."

And whatever happened next would be up to Ikuchi.


	19. Headhunters: Chapter 19

**Hoo boy, finally knocked this one out. I was tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to go about this chapter. But regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this one. Thank you all!**

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Chapter 19

Out of all the locations in Old South, Royal Gallery Mall could be considered the most lively place to be. The massive layout of the building made it a popular location for meetings or gatherings of every type, much like malls in the real world. It's reputation as a hangout spot made it a sort of home-away-from-home. Rumors even circulated around Glocken that the mall's large rotunda was often used to host clandestine tournaments where the winners won anything from cold hard cash to extremely rare weapons to even favors from the more prestigious members of the playerbase. No matter what time of day you visit the mall, there's always something going on there.

Which made its current state all the more unusual.

The parking lot was one long stretch of no man's land. Every car that used to sit there as cover was now up against the main doors or around the immediate area, pressed bumper to bumper, creating an effective wall that several Yokai members were standing behind. Others were patrolling the makeshift barrier and one more was standing on the roof, sniper rifle in hand. No lights came through the windows or the tall glass pane above the front doors designed to let the sunlight inside. There was no way to know who was inside or what was waiting for us when we got in.

"The entire place is a killing ground. Things'll get nasty real fast the second they spot us," I said, lowering the binoculars I was using. Serena parked us a good distance away from the mall, in a narrow side street that fed into the main road. The edge of the mall's parking lot was just on the other side. "I think we can agree that a straight fight should be a last resort."

"So what are you thinking?" Serena asked. I chewed on my lip.

"Maybe we can trick our way in? Pretend you got me prisoner and they'll let us through."

"Did you know that was the plan from the start? Nue told us Yanari caught you, so Ikuchi sent me and some other guys in this truck to go pick you up. Then you, y'know, killed everyone," Serena said. "If I'm the only one coming back with you, they'll get seriously suspicious. They don't trust me, remember? I'm an amateur at this game. There's no way they'll believe I caught you. You're way out of my league."

"I think that's the first time a girl's ever told me that," I said.

"Wow," Serena said, drawing out the word and looking magnificently unimpressed. "But seriously, they won't buy it. Not in a million years. They know what you can do and they know I'd rather be doing something that doesn't involve shooting people. I'm no good at it."

I had to admit, I hadn't thought of that. Serena's distaste for GGO had to be obvious to everyone in Yokai. She wasn't the most skilled shot either, by her own admission. If she marched me right up to them and said she subdued me alone, she'd raise a forest of red flags.

"Can we disguise ourselves?" Rei asked from the backseat. "It's a mall with a lot of clothes, right? We can sneak in, change our appearance, and get to Ikuchi."

I turned to face her, brow furrowed, "Can you even get out of that suit you're wearing?"

"Uh huh. You can change my clothes, my body type, even my face to whatever you like! It's all up to you, Master," she said.

Serena whipped her head around, brow furrowed. "Woah, Master? What's with the weird roleplay?"

"It's not weird at all!" Rei said, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's Master's role to be my master. I'll serve him to my full capabilities."

"So...it's still roleplay," Serena said mildly.

"No, it isn't," I insisted, probably a bit more forcefully than I needed to. My ears turned a bright shade of red. Stupid embarrassment reflex. "It's complicated and not important right now, so we'll save it. Rei, I'll remember that for later, but I don't think it'll help us now. We'd have to get in first and all the ways inside are probably guarded. They'll sound the alarm the moment we're spotted," I turned back to Serena and said, "Every entrance _is_ secured, right?

Serena sighed. "Pretty much. When Ikuchi got Sinon, he ordered everyone else to clear the mall out and turn it into this."

"Heavily fortified, guards on every entrance, and a big interior filled with every last man he has. All to hold one girl," I said, peering through the binoculars again. "He doesn't do things halfway, I'll give him that."

"So, what are you thinking?" she asked.

"One thing's for sure, we have to even the odds. We slow down for even a second and they'll slaughter us," I said, drumming my fingers on the binoculars. "We need to hit them so hard that by the time they manage to pull themselves together, we'll already be right on top of Ikuchi."

"Scramble them," Rei said. "Then we get Sinon out in the confusion, right?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah. But to do that, we need one hell of a sucker punch," I said, lowering the binoculars again. "We need backup. Just the three of us isn't going to cut it."

"Do you have any other friends, like that info broker girl?" Serena asked. I opened my menu and scrolled through my contacts, grimacing when I reached Argo's name.

"She's offline. I don't even have Noya's contact info so he's not an option," The rest of my admittedly short contacts list didn't fare much better. Either someone was offline or they were mere acquaintances at best, not someone who'd go out of their way to help me, and even if they would, I didn't have time to explain the situation and then wait for them to come to my rescue.

"So we're on our own," Serena said.

"For now," I said. I shut my eyes, thought furiously, drew on all the knowledge of GGO that I possessed — items, weapons, locations, game mechanics, every single thing that could give me the slightest edge, and came up short.

 _Not good enough,_ I growled to myself. _Focus. The answer is close._

I furrowed my brow and concentrated, but instead of focusing on the game itself, I directed my attention elsewhere: inwards. Towards myself. I consulted my skills as a treasure seeker, where I learned to pick out clues hinting towards invaluable wealth. It took a good eye and even better observational skills. Fortunately, I had both.

When I opened my eyes, I scanned the area for anything that stood out. Nothing new stood out. I didn't let it discourage me. I checked the inside of the truck, the area around the mall, and the buildings surrounding us, until finally my attention was drawn to the mottled grey sky above, where the rain fell in a torrent, pattering against cracked concrete where it would seep through the tiniest crevices to be absorbed by the fertile ground beneath or collect into a puddle deep enough to drink from.

Aha. That was it. How could I have missed it? I've said it before, monsters act differently when it rains. Including a certain kind we brushed past on the way to Royal Gallery Mall.

"Anything nearby that goes underground?" I asked. Serena looked at me, eyebrow raised.

"There was a subway entrance a bit further back," Rei offered.

I grunted and handed Serena the binoculars, "C'mon then, Rei. Let's go check it out."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Serena asked.

"Getting reinforcements. Stay in the truck just in case. If I mess up, you don't want to be next in line to get eaten," I said.

Serena's eyes went wide. "You're joking. That was a joke, right?"

"Lock the doors, too," I said. Rei and I climbed out of the truck and together we hurried down the deserted street away from the mall.

Looking for treasure wasn't the only thing I used to do in GGO; I also made a living hunting down monsters of every stripe. Books scrawled with notes were filed away in the wire shelves back at my apartment, right next to the glass case containing the chassis and head of a high level robot I killed. In fact, the first time the bounty hunters came after me was when I was trying to kill the Ignominious Wolf, in the very city I was in now. I may not have been a high ranked player, but I knew my way around a bestiary.

Knowledge is power. Learn everything you can about a monster and it's a pretty safe bet you can kill it without too much trouble. Of course, it also came with a helpful side benefit. I knew how to use their behavior to my advantage.

About halfway down the street we reached the narrow concrete staircase leading down to Old South's subway. The entrance proper was closed off by one of those grill-style roll up shutters, the latch next to it secured by a padlock.

"Not ideal," I murmured to myself, going down the stairs two at a time. "But let's not throw in the towel yet." I peered through the grating. What little light there was from outside made it only several feet past the security curtain before being consumed wholly by imperceptible darkness. Next to me, Rei leaned forward until her forehead nearly touched the gate, squinting her eyes.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," I whispered, listening intently for any sound. Then I caught it, a faint, almost wheezing chuffing noise. "There you are. Step back a bit, Rei. And don't make a sound."

She did so, clasping both hands over her mouth. Whatever works, I guess. I took a couple of steps back myself, then I licked my lips, put a pair of fingers in my mouth, and let off a sharp whistle.

The chuffing sound morphed into an enraged hiss. Tense seconds passed, then a humanoid figure lunged out of the darkness with an almost superhuman speed. It slammed into the security shutter with a throaty scream, reaching one of its gangly arms through the space between the metal bars to try to claw at my face with its long, sharp nails. I kept my face stony and didn't dare say a word.

Rei gasped through her nose and backed away, almost tripping on the stairs behind her. My chest twisted in apprehension, but she managed to right herself before taking a tumble. I thanked my lucky stars. The noise could have been fatal for us both.

The monster fell silent. Its kind hardly ever came to the surface and I was thankful for that. They weren't any pleasant to look at. The creature couldn't have been much taller than five feet if it were standing upright, and though it looked human, it was anything but. It was naked, and its hairless skin was torn off in some places, exposing the raw muscle and sinew underneath. Both shoulders were swollen with pus-filled boils the size of golf balls and half of its face was gone, melted beyond recognition, with only a lump of pink flesh where its ear used to be.

The thing's undamaged eye was clouded with a rheumy white film, but it still looked around as if it still had its sight. Its misshapen head tilted from side to side, drool leaking out from a lipless mouth as it gnashed its sharp yellow teeth, then it climbed down from the gate and crawled around on all fours, dragging its long tongue over the puddles of rainwater on the ground.

The creature was a Zerker. Old South's own boogeymonster.

There's a ton of theories about what they are exactly, and depending on who you talk to, you'll get a different one each time. Some people think they're escaped lab experiments from an undiscovered dungeon. Others think they're survivors of the Great War, mutated and driven mad by generations of radiation exposure. I've heard some people claim them to be aliens, too. Or mole people.

But whatever they were didn't matter so much as what they could do. Though they were blind, their other senses more than made up for it. Their ability to detect vibrations bordered on the supernatural and the scent of an open wound could drive them into a blood drunk frenzy, buffing their already dangerous stats, which made them particularly dangerous in their lairs deep underground. If even one spotted prey, they'd alert the others in its pack with a high-pitched wail, before they'd all swarm whoever was unlucky enough to step into their territory. One Zerker on its own was nothing to write home about, but a whole scourge of them in a confined space? That was another story. Throw in the fact that their attacks had a chance of causing a bleeding effect and a propensity for hit and run tactics, and even the most seasoned player would be given pause.

Any plan involving Zerkers was going to be dangerous by design. They were just as liable to kill me as the bad guys. However, I couldn't afford to be choosy about my options. Risk was part of the game. No avoiding it.

I patted Rei on the shoulder and headed back up the stairs, taking light steps to minimize the risk of the Zerker detecting the vibrations. Rei caught on pretty quick and did the same. We raced down the street to the truck and I jumped up on the rear bumper with my menu open. After pressing a few keys, I pointed a finger at the bed and in a brilliant flash of light, all the C4 I'd taken from the hotel appeared in a neat stack, the truck's suspension sagging under the sudden weight. I circled around the truck to the driver's side door and knocked on the window.

Serena rolled it down and said, "I'm probably gonna wish I didn't ask, but why are all those explosives in the back?"

"I know how to get inside the mall," I said, adding in a completely serious tone, "I'm going to knock."

Serena's mouth fell open. She blinked several times. "That's what you came up with?"

"I'm going to knock _really_ hard," I said. I took a breath through my nose and caught a whiff of the exquisite perfume Serena used to short circuit brains like mine. "And I need you to get out of the truck."

"But it's raining."

"Exactly."

"Are you even gonna bother explaining things to me?"

"I will. When you're out of the truck."

Serena made a displeased noise in the back of her throat. "Do you always do this lame smart ass routine?"

"Some say it's my best feature," I said. "I'd do it to Sinon instead, but she's not here so…"

"Jeez, tell her I'm sorry for what she has to go through."

Ouch. Some people.

I climbed into the truck bed and began laying out the bricks of C4 so that they covered its entire length. That's when I heard Serena let out a girlish squeal.

I tried not to grin. 'Tried' being the key word.

Serena peeked into the truck bed a moment later with her shoulders hunched and her arms crossed over her chest, the picture of misery as the rain plastered her hair flat and made her clothes sag.

"This is the worst thing you've ever had me do," she muttered.

"Look on the bright side, it can only go up from here," I said, and kept working. The nice thing about handling explosives in GGO was that you didn't need to worry about going through a tedious process to set the blasting caps and arm the main fuse. The mere act of touching a brick of plastic explosives was enough to link it to my person and once I summoned the detonator in my hand, they'd be armed and ready to blow. It took a little over a minute to prepare all but a few. The rest would come later. "I needed you to wash off that perfume of yours. The Zerkers would smell it."

"You mean those things we went past in the tunnel? What do they have to do with this?"

"Zerkers are your basic blind enemy type. They can't see anything, but they're sensitive to pretty much all other kinds of stimuli. The second they catch something that can lead to prey, they'll alert the whole pack and rush in. Normally, they don't come close to the surface," I said as I gathered three bricks of inert C4 in my arms. "unless it's raining, when they come up to drink the water. We're going to rig the truck to explode, ram it straight at their barricade, and blow it up. If we time it right, the Zerkers will hear the racket and charge head first right into the mall. They'll take care of any Yokai inside."

"Wouldn't that put Sinon in danger too?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "It's a risk, but I trust her. She's capable enough."

Rei poked her head over the tailgate. "So, how are we going to get out?"

" _We_ aren't," I said. I bent down and gave the remaining C4 to her. "You're not going."

Rei's eyes widened. "What? But why not?"

"Because I need someone to unlock that subway gate and let the Zerkers out," I pointed at the explosives in her arms. "Obviously we don't have a key, so that's going to have to do. Don't use the whole thing, just a small bit to blow up the lock. Open the gate, then get the hell out of there."

"Then I go in with you?" she asked.

"No. You're staying out here during the whole thing," I said gently, hopping off the truck bed. She looked like she was about to protest until I took her by the arm, giving it a firm squeeze to stop her before she could. "I know you want to help more directly, but I need you for something way more important. Getting to Sinon won't mean a thing if we don't have an escape route. And you're the one who's going to make it."

I opened up a map of Old South on holographic display, and zoomed in until the entirety of the Royal Gallery Mall was in view. "I don't know where we'll be when we grab Sinon, so to be on the safe side, you'll plant an explosive charge...ah, here, here...and here," I pointed at three points on the map. "A, B, and C. They don't know about you, so I bet every Yokai posted outside is going to move in on me once I start making noise. That'll give you the chance to sneak around and do your thing. When we rescue Sinon, I'll tell you to blow whichever charge I'm closest to, then we all get out. Sound good?"

Rei straightened. She pressed the explosives tightly against her chest then made them disappear with the same hand motion I used to dissipate my equipment. She looked between Serena and I, then bowed her head by way of compliance.

"Thank you," I told her.

I grabbed one final brick of C4, lifting it up and down, testing its weight, and said, "We'll stay in contact through the party. Let me know when you have each charge planted. And watch your back."

"You too..." Rei said.

I turned to climb into the truck when a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around my waist from behind, holding me tight against the press of another body. I sucked in a breath on reflex. It was comforting and warm and so close to the real thing that I didn't know any better, I'd have mistaken the embrace coming from an actual person in the real world. I looked over my shoulder. Rei had her face buried into the collar of my jacket, her short white hair sticking to her forehead underneath the hooded cloak she wore.

"Um, Master? When you find Ikuchi, stay cool, okay?" she asked in a meek voice. I thought the request strange at first, then the memory of the argument I had with Serena earlier entered my mind. She saw the whole thing play out. She witnessed first hand how worked up I got at the notion of getting my hands around Ikuchi's neck. Rei was afraid. For me.

I bowed my head and placed a hand over one of hers. "I'll try," I murmured back to her. "Thank you for caring, Rei."

She nodded. "Of course. I'll always care, Master. Forever and ever."

I forced a laugh. Serena must have read the mood, because she stepped further away to allow us some privacy. After a moment, I said, "There's something I should probably know before I go in there."

"What is it?"

"Is there any chance I could, well, lose you? Permanently?"

Rei released her hold on me, and when I turned around, she wore a pensive expression, her head tilted to one side. "I'm bound to you, Master. The only way that will change is if you willingly release me. Or trade me to someone else."

Which meant she wasn't leaving my side anytime soon. I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay, cool. That won't happen any time soon," I said.

Rei gave me a tiny smile. "I know. I trust you."

I sent Serena an invite and we piled into the truck with me in the driver's seat. I settled into the cracked leather seating and held the brick of C4 out to her. "Hold onto this, will you?"

She took it with a noticeable amount of caution, and I focused on the street ahead.

I turned the key. The truck sputtered to life. Black smoke billowed from the tailpipe, the engine wheezed and coughed, but the determined hum coming from four thousand pounds of steel was unmistakable as I gripped the steering wheel hard, my knuckles creaking, my gaze fixed on the barricade standing between me and Ikuchi. Sinon was in there. I was going to get her out. Even if I had to raze half the city to do it.

"I'm ready to blow the lock, Master," Rei said over my earpiece. I nodded and set the truck into drive.

"Do it on my signal," I said. I took a slow, deep breath, gathering my willpower, shaping it into what I needed it to be. A weapon. A driving energy. A quiet, unyielding strength potent enough to see me through even the worst situations. This one would be no different.

The racing of my virtual heart accelerated with the fast, harsh beats of a war drum as whatever passed for adrenaline in the Amusphere pumped itself through my veins. The anticipation of battle. Pre-fight jitters. Whatever you want to call it, it seized my body and refused to let go. But there was a familiarity to the tension. Like an old friend that always got you into trouble.

"You sure you want to come with me? Ride's going to get rough." I said. Serena nodded.

"I'll try to keep them from hitting you. Just focus on driving," she said. "You do know how to drive, right?

"Nope," I said. Which was the truth. I could tell one pedal from the other, but everything else was from another planet. On the bright side, it's not like I had to be an expert for what I was about to do.

Serena frowned. "Uh, maybe I should take over. I'm pretty sure I can —,"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and gunned it.

Two thoughts occurred to me when I hit the gas.

The first was that the pedal was way more sensitive than I expected. The slightest pressure was enough to make the truck jerk, and when I slammed the pedal all the way down, the tires squealed and spun in place for a half-second before gaining traction. The ancient vehicle shot forward at a breakneck speed. My stomach lurched and the unexpected shift of inertia catapulted me back into my seat, my fingers almost slipping from the steering wheel. The truck raced across the main street and hit the curb hard, jouncing off of it with enough speed to send sparks flying from the undercarriage as we bounced and roared into the parking lot.

The second thought was that I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and several painfully clear images flashed in my mind of crashing and flying through the windshield to become a wet smear on the ground.

"Slow down. Slow down! We're going _way_ too fast!" Serena braced a hand against the dashboard, her eyes wide with terror like she had a front seat on a runaway roller coaster.

"No! Faster! No weenie speed. Only warp speed," I shouted, more than a little terrified myself.

The sniper on the rooftop noticed us first, but it didn't take long for the other Yokai to realize what was happening. They spread out behind their wall of parked cars, took aim with their numerous automatics and rifles, and tore through the steady pattering of rain with a cacophonous wail of gunfire. The windshield broke in an instant under the heavy onslaught and I ducked my head to avoid the shards of safety glass flying. I veered the truck from side to side, avoiding as much gunfire as I could as the sharp, jerky swerves threatened to toss me around in my own seat. Serena pushed her nausea down and poked her head out the window, letting loose with her own roar from her Uzi, trying to suppress their fire.

Bullets pinged off the truck in a shower of sparks, a hideous grinding noise started coming from the engine, and smoke coughed up from underneath the hood. I kept my head down, practically peeking out over the steering wheel.

"Serena, the C4, now!" I yelled. She dove back inside and fumbled for it in her lap, practically shoving it into my outstretched hand. I took my foot off the pedal and replaced it with the explosive brick in a hurried toss. "Out the truck!"

"No! We're going to break our necks like this," she hollered back. I grimaced, steering the truck to the right to avoid the full brunt of another wall of lead.

"Tuck and roll. Don't move a muscle until I get you. Not a muscle!" I said. A bullet ricocheted off the dashboard and I winced as it burned the spot right next to my left eye. You can't get much more motivation than that. I threw open the door.

And then I dove out of a moving truck going a bajillion miles per hour.

You can't fully appreciate the extent of what momentum can do until you're left to her tender mercies. For example, people who ride motorcycles tend to wear leather jackets, vests, and pants when they're out on the street. It's not a fashion statement. They wear them so a bad crash doesn't turn into an impromptu flaying when they start skidding across the asphalt. After all, you could be the most gifted, most powerful person to ever walk the earth, but the moment your two feet leave the ground, physics takes the figurative wheel. You don't stop until it says so.

I hunched my shoulders and used my arms to shield my head, but it didn't prepare me. Not the least bit. Everything whirled around. The ground scraped and tore and ripped at my body, mauling me like a pack of rabid wolves. My knee struck something hard and all the feeling in my leg went numb. One of my arms was wrenched away from my head and a burning sensation savaged my cheek not even an instant later. Somewhere in my mind, in the last shreds of coherent thought, I worried that the Zerkers would smell the blood.

I tumbled for what felt like an eternity. Then it was over. I slowed to a stop, lying on my back, staring straight up at the dark grey sky, cold water splashing my face. The world was still spinning. Everything was fuzzy. I couldn't remember what I was supposed to be doing.

Then I heard a heavy metal crash, and snapped back into the moment. I raised a shaking arm, summoned the ten ton detonator in my hand, and rasped, "Rei, blow it."

I turned my head to see the truck had crashed dead center against the wall of cars blocking the mall entrance. The cloud of smoke pouring from its hood turned thick and black. A steady stream of gas leaked from somewhere underneath the vehicle. Yokai climbed over the wreck to take aim at me.

From somewhere off in the distance, I heard a distinct, sharp pop. The gate was unlocked. The Zerkers were coming, I was sure of it. Rei's explosion would alert all of them. To them, loud noises meant prey.

So I squeezed the detonator's trigger, and gave them an even louder racket.

It wasn't an explosion. The word often conjures up images of a ball of fire, a shockwave hard enough to throw you back a little, a one and done kaboom. The word simply didn't do justice to what happened. Just one ounce of C4 has enough punch to break steel. The truck was loaded with pounds of it.

All I knew was shattered. The very air itself was split in half. The world trembled like an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, and a meteor strike all happened at once, shaking me so hard and so violently that my guts turned to water and rushed up my throat. I would have curled onto my side and puked if a heavy wave of pressure didn't smash me flat.

Ground Zero of the blast was a level of destruction and chaos few have ever experienced in their lives. Car parts, metal, stone. Asphalt, shrapnel, bodies, limbs, and blood. All of it flew into the air in a shower of pure violent mayhem. The outer wall of cars turned into a flaming heap as one vehicle after another had its gas tank blown, setting off a disastrous domino effect that pulverized any Yokai unlucky enough to survive the initial hit. The mall's windows disintegrated and rained down shards of glass. The sniper perched at the top of the roof didn't even have time to run when the entire front of the mall's entrance collapsed from the blast's overpressure. The ground crumbled underneath his feet, swallowing and burying him whole under the debris gathering behind the wall of fire that set half the parking lot alight with a sullen orange glow.

But that's not all folks. Because amidst the burning wreckage, the crackling flames, the crumbling building, and the deafening ringing in my own ears, came a horrid, otherworldly screech so utterly _wrong_ that my basest animal instincts urged me to run and hide in the nearest hole. Then there was another shriek. And another. And more still, until a nightmarish chorus echoed through the streets of the dead city. I fought against the animal impulse to run, instead curling into the fetal position, wincing as the cheek that got torn up touched the wet ground. I held my breath, waiting, until a rumble that sounded like a stampede of bison came from the direction of the subway entrance, followed by the all-too-familiar sound of the Zerkers' angry hissing.

The first one rushed past me with a bloodthirsty howl. More followed on its heels, dozens of feet pounding against the concrete at once. The cry from the lead Zerker spurred several more in kind, and I watched in stunned silence as the horde of mutated monsters bounded through the fire without stopping. Gunfire erupted from somewhere inside the mall, and the Zerkers answered it with a sadistic glee, rushing into the mall, ready to hunt.

The ground shook again as a Zerker far larger and meaner looking trudged past me on all fours. Its every limb hulked with muscle. Green scales covered its arms, legs, and chest, and its gnarled face looked vaguely reminiscent of a bat. I'd never seen its kind before, only read about them in some bestiaries. It was the Alpha. The top dog of the pack. Faster, stronger, and more experienced than its smaller kin. An Alpha's temperament varied from one to another and no two fought the same, but each of them was dangerous in their own right. Evidently, the one passing me by was just as unconcerned with the fires as the rest of its pack, because it climbed over the flaming hood of a sedan, crushing it like it was an empty beer can, before disappearing behind the flames.

I waited for a couple of heartbeats to pass, then allowed myself to breathe again. Every fiber of my being thrummed with a bone deep ache. I ignored it and got to my feet without falling over, which isn't saying anything impressive because I had to brace my hands against my knees to keep from collapsing again.

"Master, are you okay?" Rei asked through my earpiece.

My answer wasn't much more than a tired rasp. "Banged up a bit, but I'm still in one piece," I looked around and found Serena lying on her side a bit further away, surrounded by pieces of metal and glass. Her health had taken a hit almost as hard as mine did, less than half still remained. I limped over to her, my head on a swivel looking for any incoming threats, then I dropped onto my knees next to her and rolled her onto her back, "Hey, you still with me?"

Serena blinked at me, bleary-eyed. Then she mumbled, her voice hoarse, "You're insane. You're actually straight up crazy."

"Guilty," I said. Serena had a large red pixelated hole on the left side of her chest, most likely from the sniper. She was lucky. The Zerkers must have been too distracted with the explosion — along with the smell of fire, oil, and the blood of several other dead or dying Yokai — to notice her open wound. I rooted through one of the pouches on my belt, and produced a medical syringe.

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever done and it's because of you," she said.

"Also true." I held her still and applied the syringe directly to the gunshot. Serena flinched a little as the syringe worked its magic. The edges of the wound slowly closed and knit themselves together until it disappeared without a trace. She wasn't at full health, but at least she wouldn't attract any undue attention from the monstrosities now wreaking havoc inside. "C'mon. Zerkers have started the party. We don't have a lot of time."

Serena took my hand. She swayed a little when I helped her up to her feet, but when I moved to support her, she waved me off. "Where are we going?"

"Same way they did," I said. We went around the wall of demolished cars until we found a spot where the fire was thin. I clambered over the roof of a car with Serena behind me. The sweltering heat intermingled with the chilly rain, creating little puffs of steam that reminded me of a sauna. We climbed over another set of cars until we reached the mall's entrance, which was, to put it lightly, blown the hell out, leaving one big crater where the walls and doors used to be. Whatever Yokai were left to guard it were either dead or pushed back further inside by the Zerkers' assault.

"Let's go," I said. A ravenous roar bounced off the walls of the mall's dark interior, accompanied by the popping of more gunfire. I grimaced and pulled my sawed-off free. "We aren't going to be short on targets. Stay on your guard, but check your shots. Sinon could be anywhere in here."

"Got it."

I gathered my nerves, doing my best to shove aside the dull pain raking over my body, and ran head first into the mess I created.

The wide open halls were surprisingly clean and free of debris despite the literal generations that had passed since the war. Bestial wailing and sporadic gunshots echoed through the air like we were in a yawning cavern. The fighting was going on everywhere, or in one place, close or far away, I couldn't be too sure. It wouldn't have been a good idea to run into the middle of an ongoing fight, though, so I broke off into another corridor to my right. Royal Gallery was a big place and in the chaos of things, people were going to be moving in every direction to get away from the horde of monsters I unleashed on them.

We turned a corner and, sure enough, found two Yokai with their backs to us about twenty feet away. One had his arm around the other's shoulder as they limped away. Their armor was scorched black and the injuries they sustained didn't look like something a Zerker would have done to them, burns and shallow cuts, mostly. Survivors from the blast, then.

"Hold it!" I raised my sawed-off at their backs. The one carrying his limping friend cursed and a pistol suddenly appeared in his hand. He drew fast, but the weight of his friend slowed him down when he turned to aim at me.

My sawed-off belched, and a dozen pellets tore into him. His damaged armor did little in the way of protecting him. Pixelated blood flew into the air and he flopped to the ground dead before the shot finished echoing off the walls. His injured comrade, now without a means of support, landed right beside him, trying to scramble to his feet.

"Behind," Serena half-shouted. I looked over my shoulder at a pair of Zerkers coming towards us from the way we came. I grit my teeth, broke open the sawed-off, and replaced the spent shell while Serena yanked her twin Uzi's free, her face strained with apprehension. She shifted her aim towards the nearest Zerker and her guns became literal lead hoses, the magazines of both her Uzis emptying in less than five seconds. Guns like hers and mine don't do so hot when it comes to sustained fire — which is why short, controlled bursts worked best — so for every bullet that struck the creature dead on, three more hit the ground around it, and five went off in random directions. Serena was probably aware of her...lackluster aim. Maybe that was why she opted for a pair of bullet-guzzling Uzis as her quick and nasty option of getting rid of people.

One of her shots hit the creature's right arm. It took a nasty tumble, but the other Zerker didn't slow down, unconcerned about its downed companion. Serena focused her aim on it, but fate decided right then and there to throw a curveball. Her guns clicked empty.

"Get back," I said, throwing an arm in front of her.

In that moment, the Zerker let out a ululating battle cry and took three long strides before lunging at me, claws extended.

I raised my sawed-off, waited until the Zerker was within spitting distance, then pulled the trigger. The gun roared its defiance, catching the monster right in the center of its chest, throwing it back a good dozen feet in a spew of red pixelated viscera, yet somehow it managed to roll itself back into a crouch to take another swing at me. I fired again, hitting it in its shoulder, rending flesh and bone apart with a hideous wet pop. Its arm fell to the ground. The Zerker howled in pain and rage, and ran at us again in an unrelenting fury.

"C'mon, stay down," I muttered. I pulled my pistol clear and put a bullet right between its eyes, ending it for good.

I slammed fresh shells into the sawed-off. The surviving Zerker wobbled to its feet, hurting but not out of the fight.

"Leave it," I said to Serena, holstering my weapons. She threw me a surprised glance.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Fighting it is just going to draw more attention and we can't get bogged down," I said. We ran past the wounded Yokai, and I didn't have to look back to know the Zerker would decide to go after the easier prey.

We passed into a seemingly empty food court. The light fixtures hanging from its high ceilings were either dead or flickering, and it left the food stores along the walls sitting in deep shadows. I squinted my eyes, but couldn't see anyone hiding in them. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't any.

There was a sudden flicker of a bullet line that danced across my vision. I didn't stop to look for the source, instead throwing myself to the side while giving a shout of wordless warning. The air turned hot as bullets zipped by.

Serena dropped to the ground and crawled after me behind the safety of a nearby pillar. I got up and peeked around our cover to where a pair of Yokai stood behind a waist high wall on the other end of the food court.

I pulled back and fell into a crouch, replacing the sawed-off with my MP7. When a break in the gunfire came, I leaned out, firing in short bursts, but the two Yokai were competent, laying down a barrage of suppressive fire on me the moment I stuck my head out. Every shot I fired went wide, and I took a bullet in the arm for my trouble.

I spat out a curse, then injected myself with another medical syringe from the pouch on my belt. Serena's eyes met mine, and I gave her a short nod. We both whirled around our respective covers, sighting down our guns, but then another Zerker came charging at the Yokai from the hallway behind them. It roared ferociously, drawn in by the sound of our fight. One of the men tried to face the source of the yell, but he only managed a half-turn before the monster threw its weight into a full body tackle, taking the Yokai up and over the wall he used as cover and falling to the floor with a loud clatter. The two rolled over each other, a mess of limbs and bodies trying to stay on top, but the Zerker's sinuous strength won out and it pinned the man to the ground, yellowed fangs sinking into his neck.

Its teeth broke skin and pixelated blood oozed out. Then the Zerker started to change. The scent alone would have caused it to happen, but the disturbing cherry on top of this slaughterhouse cake was the fact that the Zerker got a mouthful of gore to boot. Its skin turned pale, almost translucent, and the ridge of its spine protruded out further and further until it broke through the surface, each individual bone tipped with a long black quill as thick as a couple of my fingers. Smaller, more hair-fine quills grew from its forearms and legs.

The thing looked like a porcupine from Hell.

The other Yokai unloaded his entire magazine into the creature's back. It backed away, snarling in contempt, then it raised an arm and brushed a hand over it like it was wiping off a layer of dust. The needle thin quills flew through the air and stuck themselves into the Yokai's body armor. There was a sizzling noise like grease on a hot pan and thin trails of smoke wafted from the points of contact. The quills were acidic, and they were eating through the kevlar and steel plate like it was a wet tissue.

Lucky for me, then. I took the opportunity to shoot him with one long burst while he was distracted. Without the suppressive fire, my shots were true, all of them hitting him at center mass. His ruined armor became the death of him. He toppled over and didn't get back up.

The Zerker snapped its head towards us, its tongue lolling out, the spikes along its back quivering like a rattlesnake's tail.

"Don't suppose you're willing to let us walk?" I asked. The Zerker hissed and launched another cloud of quills at us. Serena and I hid behind the pillar and the malodorous stench of its acid filled my nostrils. I grimaced. "Fine, Cuddles, we'll do it your way."

Without preamble, I dove out of cover into a roll, sprinting around the beast as soon as I got my feet under me. The Zerker roared and gave chase, moving to intercept me. Even on a good day, I'd have no hope of outrunning it, but I had no intention to. I changed course, and instead ran right for it. Grabbing one of the chairs scattered about the food court, I picked it up and flung it hard at my pursuer. The Zerker tensed its legs and hopped over it like it was an award winning hound in a dog show.

But like I said, it doesn't matter how powerful you are. Once your feet leave the ground, physics is your master.

In the time it took for the Zerker to make its leap, I dropped into a baseball slide. The Zerker flew over me as it writhed in the air, trying in vain to change its trajectory. My sawed-off appeared in my hand in a blur and I emptied both shells straight into its vulnerable stomach. The Zerker howled in pain as it crashed into the counter of one of the surrounding fast food stores, where it floundered and twitched, trying to rise again. I turned, got to one knee, and emptied the remaining bullets in my MP7 at it. It went still.

"Holy crap," Serena said breathlessly. I turned to face her, reloading my weapons.

"I can sing and dance, too," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you made yourself lame again."

I jerked my head towards the nearest hallway, and Serena and I bolted down it in a mad dash. It was only a matter of time before either the Yokai or the Zerkers were completely wiped out. We couldn't afford to be slow.

"The first charge has been set, Master," Rei chirped in my ear piece.

"Good. Is there anyone out there with you?" I asked. She took a moment to respond.

"Nobody. It's like you said, they all went inside after you made that big boom happen," she said. I chewed on my lip.

"Alright. Keep doing what you're doing, we're still looking for Sinon," I said.

"Roger that!"

We turned another corner, and at the far end of the hall was a wide open space as big as a concert hall. It was circular in shape, and still lit by lights I couldn't see. In the middle was a raised portion of the floor, and a large fountain stood in its center. Benches surrounded it, and the statue of a woman dressed in an elegant gown poured a steady stream of crystal clear water into its basin from a pitcher on her shoulder.

One of the benches sitting against the fountain faced me. A man sat there. His arms rested over the bench's backrest on either side of him, the silver hilt of a photon sword in one hand, his thumb on the activation switch, ready to ignite the blade. White hot fury burned inside my chest.

Ikuchi.

"Stay back, Serena," I told her, and my tone made it clear it wasn't a request. "He shouldn't see you with me."

She hesitated, but ultimately nodded. My vision tunneled in on Ikuchi, the man responsible for everything, and my body moved on its own, every step filled with grim determination. I didn't have to walk far for him to see me.

"Don't be shy, now," he said, loud enough for his voice to echo. "You came all this way. Surely you'll agree that it's your duty to see this all the way through."

I made it to the very edge of the room and pulled out my pistol, aiming it right between his eyes, my every word dripping with pure malice, "You got five seconds to tell me where she is before your brains get splattered all over that fountain."

"Say please."

I fired.

The bullet buried itself into the gut of the womanly statue. Ikuchi didn't flinch.

"Three seconds," I said.

Ikuchi pursed his lips, then he gave a cold laugh and said, "Lost all your humor, have you? No more childish comebacks or asinine jokes. If I'd known that this is what I needed to do in order to draw out your serious side, I'd have done it ages ago."

"Enough of the damn melodrama. Where is she?" I took another step, gripping the pistol so tightly my knuckles creaked. I stepped into the room and took a quick look around.

We were in the mall's three story high rotunda. The second and third floors were empty, and the light, I realized, was coming through the large glass dome at the top, along with rows of high intensity LED lamps affixed to the ceiling of each floor. As far as I could tell, Ikuchi was alone. But I wasn't about to take any chances with him, and stayed right where I was rather than walking out into the open room.

Ikuchi tilted his head up with an air of haughty arrogance, a smile playing on his lips. He rose off the bench, raising his free hand in a silent command. I caught a flicker of motion from behind and far up above him. Two figures stepped out into the light from the second level. One of them was Gozu, dressed in cutting edge military gear and a thick kevlar vest.

The other was Sinon.

My breath got caught in my throat.

Gozu had her arms twisted in a painful knot behind her back. Her clothes were soiled with dirt and mud, her light blue hair was disheveled, and the white muffler she wore was gone. She blinked a few times, her eyes trying to adjust to the light, then she spotted me two stories down. I must have been quite a sight to her, because she scowled and bucked against Gozu's grip, swinging one leg back in a futile attempt to kick him off her. It was a small relief, but a relief nonetheless. Sinon was still fighting.

"You have the full attention of Yokai, now. An admirable feat all things considered. Usually people like you are beneath my notice," Ikuchi said.

"Bet you feel pretty stupid right now, huh?" I asked.

Ikuchi smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I will admit I underestimated you. And your loyalty. You must hold Sinon in high regard if you came all this way to save her. Frankly, I'm impressed. Your talents, your survival skills — I can't help but admire them tremendously. You're no ordinary GGO player, that's for sure."

I glared at him. "Make this easy for both of us, then. Let her go. I'm only asking once."

Ikuchi held his hands out, palms facing upwards. "And if I don't?"

"Yokai's gonna need a bucket and a mop to pick up what's left of you."

"Hmm. Resorting to idle threats now. You really have been shaken up," Ikuchi walked slowly towards me, his eyes never leaving me and my gun never leaving him. "Look at yourself. You've been chewed up and spit out. The fact that you even made it here is a miracle in and of itself. You really believe you'll stand a chance against me in a fight?"

"Still got a few tricks up my sleeve," I said.

Ikuchi shrugged, the gesture rife with indifference. "I can see. Using Zerkers to do the work for you. Inspiring," he said, eyes narrowing. "Yet, as I said, you're hardly in the condition to fight me. You're exhausted. Probably low on ammo as well. It'd be suicide."

"Probably. But I'm not backing down. You're holding my friend. Not about to just let that go. I'm ending this one way or another," I said.

"Oh, this will end, but not by your initiative," he said with more gentleness than I thought possible for a man keeping my best friend hostage, "This is how the game is played. You fight with everything you have to prove you're the better man. As long as you comply with me this one time," Ikuchi shot a glare in my direction. "we'll all leave here with hardly a scratch."

"Yeah, right after you take what you want, to hell with me and Sinon," I said, "What happened to you in Aincrad, man? Is this really the best way to deal with it?"

Something flickered across her face. I expected him to lash out at me, like when we confronted each other in Reif Apartments, but all he did was turn around, his back to me, apparently unconcerned that I still had a gun trained on him.

"I'm playing the cards I was dealt. As are you. That's all anyone can do with their lot in life. We do what is in our best interests. Sometimes that means stepping on other people's toes," he said, putting his hands behind his back.

"Do you really think that?" I demanded, the bullet line of my pistol shaking on the back of his head. Anger pulsed beneath my words, but I remembered Serena's request and forced the rising heat in my voice to die down to a more measured tone, "We've beaten each other to a pulp for something that can be fixed in a thousand different ways. You don't need to do this. There's got to be people out there who care about you. Your team, hell, your family, do you really think they want to see you like this? There's no power in this."

"Really? I have to disagree. There's plenty of power to be found here. After all, you're the greatest piece of evidence."

"What?"

Ikuchi turned to face me. "Where were you before this all started? Hunting basic monsters? Eking out a living on scraps the Wastes deigned to give you? A meager existence, yet look at yourself now. You've assaulted a stronghold belonging to one of the greatest squadrons GGO has ever seen. You've beaten every man who stood against you, crushed every obstacle in your path. How many people have you killed to get to this point? Dozens? You yourself have grown stronger through opposition. That is exactly what I'm talking about."

"Are you serious? You're trying to compare me killing people in a game to you trying to hurt my friend?" I said.

"The only people who thrive in GGO are the ones who do whatever it takes to win. You can rationalize it all you like, but we're both guilty of it. This is just another turn of the cog," His said, then added in a dangerous whisper. "I'm in control now. I refuse to just roll over and let things happen to me again. From now on, I decide what happens."

"No, not this time. I'm stopping you, right now," I said.

Ikuchi fell silent. He tilted his chin up slightly, like he was listening for a sound I couldn't hear, then he gave a small sigh, putting his photon sword away. "We shall see. Fact is, everything had been decided the moment you walked in here."

The way he said it set my nerves alight and set off warning bells in my ears. Something didn't feel right. Ikuchi wasn't a fool. He knew I was smart enough to evade legions of bounty hunters, to turn his scheme against him, and to dodge his men long enough to track him down once he attacked me directly. I'm one guy, but I proved to be slippery as all hell.

Which was why he had to switch up his tactics.

A cold realization hit me. One that I never caught because I'd been too hung up on finding Sinon. Serena said there were twenty five Yokai in the mall at most. There were only a handful at the entrance when I blew it up, plus a couple more inside.

Where the hell were the others?

Far up above, Sinon narrowed her eyes, then she sucked in a breath and her shout echoed off the cavernous room, "Behind you!"

Every muscle in my body violently contracted at once. A sudden, sharp pain like thousands of needles scratching my skin tore through my body in less than a second. My eyes screwed shut on pure reflex, convulsions ransacking my avatar's form, the pistol slipping to the ground. Then without warning, gravity shifted, I fell forward, and my head cracked hard against the floor. My vision drowned in stars.

Voices came from somewhere around me. Metal stakes pounded themselves into my head, and my body refused to move no matter how much effort I put into it, like someone had just shut off all connection I had with my Amusphere's motor functions. I tried piecing together what happened when a pair of hands grabbed me and dragged me to Ikuchi's feet.

It took me a few seconds to get my head back in order, and longer to realize what had happened. I'd been shot by a stun bullet.

They were hard to come by and any merchant that sold them could burn a nice big hole in your wallet, but what they lacked in availability they sure made up in effectiveness. In the wise words of the GGO playerbase, you could only do three things when a stun bullet hit you. The three B's: Blink, Breathe, and a word that you shouldn't say in front of kids. Until they wore off, I'd be a sitting duck, easy pickings, a fish in a barrel, and various other states of screwed.

"You took your time," Ikuchi said, addressing someone I couldn't see.

"Busy routing the Zerkers. We managed to push them back to the south side of the mall, but no further. We need to wrap this up quick before the line breaks," a deep voice said. I recognized it.

"Oh, Mezu, that's where you've been," I croaked. I heard him snort, then a hand, probably his, grabbed me by the hair and lifted. I winced. My chin hung a few inches off the ground and I got a good view of Ikuchi standing over me.

"As I said," he murmured. "I decide what happens."

Before I could throw out some scathing reply, he looked to his right with a deepening frown, crossing his arms over his chest, "I didn't want to believe it, but there's no denying it now. You betrayed me, Serena."

The bottom of my stomach dropped. I could barely see her out of the corner of my eye, but it was without a doubt Serena. Mezu had dropped her paralyzed form right next to me. Ikuchi knelt down in front of her with something like disappointment written on his face, then he took her twin Uzi's from their holsters and rose to toss them into the fountain's water basin with an air of contempt.

"You...k-knew," I said, struggling to form the words.

Ikuchi stopped, and looked at me the way one looks at a particularly bothersome fly buzzing around their head. "It appears you underestimated me as well. When the keycard disappeared, I knew someone had to have picked it right out of my pocket. I had my eye on you and Sinon the entire time, so it had to be someone closer. Someone right behind me," Ikuchi said, his eyes flat and utterly devoid of life. "I began to suspect Serena was a traitor since that day. Today was my chance to see if my suspicions were correct."

Which was why he sent her to pick me up when I'd been allegedly captured. He expected her to help me, even bring me here to rescue Sinon. A ball of ice formed in my stomach. A growing sense of dread manifested itself as another realization dawned on me. He showed her the Black Star for the same reason. He expected her to tell me, and I raced in here desperate to save Sinon from possible trauma without considering the possibility of a trap waiting for me. He dangled the bait and I took it — hook, line, and sinker.

More Yokai appeared from the dark corners of the rotunda. Some walked out of dark stores on the ground level while others pointed their guns at me from the second floor, propping the bipods of sniper rifles and light machine guns on the guardrails. Two more came to Mezu's side and at his command, they both stripped me of my weapons and tossed them into the fountain — even my knife was thrown into the drink.

They patted me down until they were sure I had nothing hidden away, then retreated for Ikuchi to crouch down in front of me, his face remote.

"I didn't want things to come to this," he said. "We can both agree that our spat has spiraled completely out of control. You tried to be a hero because of some misguided ethos, and your insistence on following that ethos led to this. The consequences should have been obvious, and now they're inevitable," he raised his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Gozu, bring Sinon down here. It's time we get to work."

Gozu dragged Sinon back into the darkness, and I heard her struggle against him the whole way there.

Ikuchi leaned in closer and patted the front of his long coat, on the left side, "It's right here. She doesn't know about it. What's going to happen when she sees the Black Star again?"

"Don't," I snarled, my teeth bared. "If you go through with this, you'll be making a big mistake."

Ikuchi gave a dry laugh. "Still trying to intimidate me?"

"No, I'm warning you. Straight up. I wanted to avoid conflict, work things out without fighting. I'm still willing to do that. But if you pull that gun on Sinon, you make this personal, and no amount of men, guns, or bullshit schemes will keep you safe from me."

I didn't raise my voice at him. There was no venom or boiling anger. It was all mere fact. As unavoidable as the sun rising in the morning.

Ikuchi looked from me to Serena then back again. He inhaled and exhaled through his nose with a contemplative frown, then rose. He seemed to ponder it for a moment. This wasn't the first time we've butted heads or the first time I've told him off, but it was the first time I told him in no uncertain terms that I was going to wage war against him if he didn't break off from his stupid plan. And by God, I'd do it. Without an ounce of regret.

Ikuchi pursed his lips and looked away, his gaze distant. Then he shook his head, "Stubborn. Brave, but stubborn."

Gozu appeared in that moment, hauling Sinon with him. Her struggling hadn't died down in the slightest. In fact, now that we were mere feet away from each other, she thrashed all the harder, kicking at the air and throwing her weight against her captor in an attempt to throw off his balance. Sinon was no pushover. Her petite, lean figure hinted at an undercurrent of physical strength and sharpened skill. I mean, she carried around a sniper rifle almost as long as she was tall, and she did it effortlessly, with the same dexterity one handles a cheap pistol. One time she punched my lights out for making a crass joke and I spent the next few minutes just trying to remember what my name was. When we fought the Ruined Prototype, she protected me by blocking one of its attacks cold. And that thing was strong enough to snap tables in half and punch through concrete.

But all of Sinon's strength didn't mean squat. Her arms were twisted behind her back. Gozu had all the leverage. It had to have pissed her off.

Gozu kicked the back of her knees to force her down, but he didn't relinquish his grip on her, forcing her shoulders up and out. Sinon snarled, though I knew she only did it to keep herself from crying out.

"Hey," I said.

Gozu arched an eyebrow at me.

"You're hurting her. Lay off."

"I don't believe you're in a position to make demands," Ikuchi said.

"And you can wait your damn turn. I'll get to you in a minute," I said, and turned my attention to the Sinon. "You holding up?"

She peered at me through the bangs of her light blue hair, panting slightly "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Just stay with me, alright? I'm going to get us out of here," I said. She swallowed and gave a firm nod.

"We shall see," Ikuchi said, stepping in between us. "Now that we're all here, it's time we address the crux of the matter."

I lifted my chin in defiance, though the effect was somewhat lost since Mezu still had a firm grip on my hair, "I'm not playing along with your game so you can forget it."

"Oh, but you have to. You're holding Sinon's fate in your hands."

I stayed silent, wary. Ikuchi stepped away and circled around Sinon like someone admiring a new car. She glared at him the whole time, wearing the coldest expression I'd ever seen her make.

"It's all rather simple. Tell me what it is you got out of the vault and hand it over. If you don't," Ikuchi made a show of reaching into his coat. "You know what will happen."

A flash fire of wild rage rose up the back of my neck. He wanted me to give up Rei. If I didn't, he'd pull the Black Star on Sinon, and whatever happened next would be my fault. I wanted to wring his neck. The urge to rain down every conceivable punishment I could think of almost became too much to bear.

"What the hell are you thinking?" I demanded.

"I'm thinking that you care more about Sinon than whatever you got out of the vault. You don't really value some material thing over your friend, do you?" he asked. "This should be an easy choice. You have one minute to decide."

Damn it. Damn it! If I didn't cooperate, I would never forgive myself if something happened to Sinon. I'd never be able to look her in the eye again. Worse, if she ends up blaming me for whatever happens, then I didn't know what I'd do. I would have already betrayed her not even a week after our relationship changed.

Of course, if I did what he wanted, Rei would be put in his sights too, and there was no guarantee he'd never use the Black Star to his advantage again. I thought about lying, but at best it would only delay him. He'd run out of patience if I didn't give him something. My options were limited, and none of them were good.

"Don't tell him a thing," Sinon urged me. "I'll be fine. There's nothing he can do to me."

She couldn't see it, but Ikuchi smiled.

I couldn't think straight. I didn't see a way out. The stun bullet's paralyzation effect wouldn't end anytime soon and even if it did, I wouldn't be able to do a thing with Mezu on me and my weapons gone. Time was slipping away, and the more I wasted trying to think of a masterstroke plan, the less I had to act.

"Thirty seconds," Ikuchi purred.

"Forget about me," Sinon said. I couldn't.

"U-uhm...the second charge is ready, Master," Rei mumbled into my earpiece. Her voice was tinged with confused worry. She had no idea what was going on.

She didn't deserve to be hunted down like I was. It didn't matter that she was an AI and not a real person, she trusted me with every part of her being and I was her master. Her safety was my responsibility. I didn't ask for it, but I couldn't abandon it.

But even still...Sinon was important to me. I couldn't hurt her. I'd hate myself for it.

"Ten seconds," Ikuchi said.

What was I supposed to do?

I tried to look around, desperate for help, but Mezu's grip held firm. I couldn't see anything past Ikuchi, Sinon in Gozu's clutches, and the fountain right behind the three of them. There wasn't anything that could help me.

Where was my ace in the hole?

"Five."

There wasn't any. I didn't have anymore more tricks.

"Four."

I messed up. I led myself into a trap. I let my emotions get the better of me.

"Three."

Someone I cared about was going to suffer for my mistakes.

"Two."

I failed her.

"One."

I'm so sorry, Rei.

...

" _AKIRA!"_

I didn't so much hear the voice as felt it, all the way down to the bits of data that made up my avatar. It was a voice that commanded absolute attention from everyone, even the rain seemed to die down like it was bowing its head out of respect. The mall turned deathly still. The various Yokai positioned around us all seemed to hold their collective breath. Even Sinon herself had her lips parted as she stared at the one responsible for it all.

But the person most affected out of all of us was Ikuchi. He froze, so still he was like the statue feeding water into the fountain behind him. Shock wouldn't even begin to describe the expression he wore, or the way his face turned ashen, or how the hand reaching halfway into his coat went limp and fell to his side. When he turned, it was with a stiff, mechanical motion, like a corpse's imitation of a man still living.

"What...did you call me?" he asked quietly.

There, lying on the ground, her body paralyzed, Serena met his gaze with tears in the corners of her blazing gold eyes. "I called you Akira."

Ikuchi's gaze wavered and he took a step back, shaking his head. "This is some kind of a joke, isn't it? Another one of his stupid tricks," He glared at me.

"No. It's really me," Serena said. "It's been me this whole time."

"You're lying."

"I'm not!"

"Prove it," Ikuchi snapped.

Serena flinched and lowered her eyes. "I told you. I _swore_ that I'd always look after you. Do you remember that? I held onto that promise. Always. Even when it hurt," she said through the tears falling down her cheeks. "I never missed a day, you know. I sat by your side every day at the hospital, worried sick that you were going to die right there in front of me. I had nightmares about it, and when you finally woke up, I cried harder than I've ever had in my life, right there on your shoulder."

"You're lying," Ikuchi's voice shook. "You...you have to be. It doesn't…"

"I couldn't do anything then, but I can now. Please, stop this. You don't need to hurt them," The look Serena gave me sent a pang of remorse through my chest. "I'm the one that asked for his help. Don't punish him for it."

"No, damn it, this isn't —" Ikuchi covered his face with his hands, balling them into tight fists. "No. No, no, no, you can't. You don't understand."

"Then let them go and _talk_ to me. Just this once, Akira," Serena pleaded with him, her voice tight to the point of breaking. "That's all I ever wanted."

"There's _nothing_ to talk about," he said. "I don't need to spill my guts out to someone. I'm handling things just fine on my own."

"Listen to her, Ikuchi," I said as gently as I could. "You aren't the only one trying to work past what happened in SAO. There are people out there who can support you."

Ikuchi whirled on me and before I knew it, his photon sword sprang to life and I found myself staring at the tip inches from my nose. "Shut your mouth. Now."

I ignored the threat. "You can't change what happened, Ikuchi. The only thing you can do now is move on. There's plenty of other survivors who are managing. You can join them. You're not alone in this."

"Who do you think you are, trying to act like you're doing me a favor?" he sneered.

"I'm trying to help you," I insisted.

Ikuchi flicked a hand. The hand grabbing my hair lifted me up along with a fistful of the back of my jacket. I cried out, struggling against Mezu's grip, but his brute strength was impossible to fight against. With a twist of his wrist, Ikuchi held the scarlet blade against my throat, the sullen red glow lighting both our faces. "You can't even help yourself. SAO is dead and buried, but it took away any semblance of power I had left. I'm going to get it back, even if I have to tear it bit by bit from wherever I can find it. Starting with you."

There was nothing for it. I wasn't going to convince him with meaningless motivational talks. As far as he was concerned, I had nothing worthwhile to say. All I could do was be crushed under his heel. To him, I was an outsider. I could never understand what he went through in that floating castle in the sky.

Fine, then.

I didn't have any other choice.

I had to show him how wrong he was.

"You wanna know something? There were people in SAO who had it just as bad as you. I'd even wager some had it worse. They're all trying to live their lives again. It's going to be hard, yeah. But you can do it. There's lots of people who are. Lily, Kain, Philia, Riki, people like them, they accepted what happened, and they're putting their lives back together. It's not too late to do the same," I said.

"How would you know?" Ikuchi growled.

I stayed silent and met his gaze with my own.

Then I saw it, the spark of comprehension behind his dark eyes. His grip on the photon sword quivered, and Ikuchi stumbled back as if in a trance. For the second time today, shock hit him like a runaway semi.

"You're not..." he choked. My face betrayed no emotion.

"Yeah...I am."

"But that's…"

I shook my head. "Think about it for a second. Those survival skills you admire so much, you think I just got them out of thin air?"

Ikuchi simply stared at me, too surprised to say anything.

The world can be a cruel place. It often is. SAO survivors learned that when they were forced to fight for their lives and push themselves to their absolute limit. Some succeeded, too many didn't. There was a reason I detested anything to do with that wretched game and why sometimes I had to make an effort to remind myself I wasn't in it. That was the nature of the beast. It's hard to move on, but not impossible.

SAO survivors find ways to keep living.

I should know.

I'm one of them.


	20. Headhunters: Chapter 20

**Not dead! Apologies for the wait. I'm sure you can imagine how crazy things have gotten as of late what with all the things that are going on in the world at the moment. Been kinda busy because of it.** **But, we'll leave that aside.**

 **So yes, right out of the gate I want to say how absolutely touched I am by all of your responses to the last chapter. Especially with how varied they were. Some people saw it coming, some were completely surprised, and some caught on to the clues after the fact. That was exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping for ever since I first started leaving hints back at the beginning of the fic. Thank you guys, truly, for enjoying this ride with me. It's been an honor. Here's to more!**

* * *

Chapter 20

November 6th, 2022.

The date was permanently branded in my mind, no matter how much I wanted to scrub it away. A few years ago, I rushed home with my prize in hand, a slim plastic case containing a harmless disc, and dove into what was sure to be the technological and scientific achievement of the century. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, crafted by a genius that had no equal, and little old middle schooler me was going to be able to experience it firsthand. It was a dream. I remember thinking that I was going to be the envy of all my classmates, that I'd regale them with stories about diving into a completely realized virtual world where you could live a second life. Fantasies of slaying monsters, exploring ruins, and conquering all one hundred floors of Castle Aincrad danced in my head from the moment I heard of the game to when I put the NerveGear on my head and uttered the words 'Link start'.

Turns out, those words damned me to two long years of imprisonment.

The sudden disappearance of the logout button, the teleportation to the Town of Beginning's plaza, Kayaba's speech, it was all one big blur to me now. I couldn't remember the exact words he said, or the way in which he said them, but I remember how it made me feel. Sick. Confused. Terrified. I felt like the whole world was closing in on me, that Death itself was breathing down my neck, its cold, lifeless fingers clenching around my throat. I imagine it's the same way people feel when someone holds a gun to their head. An imminent, suffocating fear of the absolute end.

I was going to die.

I was fourteen. And I was going to die.

Those first couple of days were pure havoc. Riots filled the streets. People tried to tear the Town of Beginnings apart, either out of a vain hope of finding something that would free them or to take what little amount of revenge they could for being held against their will. No one dared to venture outside the town walls save for a select few. Of them, roughly half didn't come back.

Looking back on it, it made more sense that they moved on to other villages to take quests and grind for experience, but their disappearance didn't help the fear festering among the rest of us.

A vast majority of the players in those days still held onto the hope that help was coming, that the police or the government would shut the whole game down before any more lives were lost. I was one of them. At the end of the first day, I rented out a cheap hotel room with what little Col I had, and waited for rescue.

Hours turned to days. Then a week. And the number of deaths kept climbing. It wasn't until the end of the third week that the cruel reality sunk in for me. We were trapped in SAO, and nobody was coming to save us. The fear multiplied tenfold among the playerbase, leading to a paranoia so thick that it clung to the air, becoming a near-tangible thing that weighed on everyone like a plague. People pointed fingers at each other for the smallest reasons and the ensuing fights did nothing but pour gas on an already blazing fire.

By that point, I had no more money to keep up with the rent. Eventually, I'd go hungry, too, but I still couldn't bring myself to venture out into the unknown. I resorted to completing basic fetch quests around town, putting the pitiful amount of Col towards just having a roof over my head. I picked fruits from an NPC's garden to keep myself fed. Whatever it took to keep my head above water, I did it.

But it wasn't living — I'd hesitate to even call it existing. I let my life be consumed by a hopeless routine with no end in sight, suffering under the weight of a death game, too scared to do anything more than cower and hope in vain, all while people despaired and died trying to escape our virtual prison. It was torture. Agony. But at least I was still alive, I thought to myself in those lonely sleepless nights. For whatever that was worth.

The more it dragged on, the worse the situation got. Hundreds of people died after the first few weeks and more than once, I saw people mourning at the foot of the Monument of Life, the massive slab of stone inside the Black Iron Palace etched with the name of every player in the game. More than once, I imagined my name being crossed off like so many others. I couldn't take the thought. Better to shut myself away and wait. For what? I didn't know. But it was better than dying. Better than never seeing the real world again.

Then the death toll hit two thousand. Two thousand innocent people were gone. A fifth of the players in SAO were dead and we hadn't even beaten the first floor. How does anyone stay strong after that?

I'm not proud to say it. I gave up. We were never going to leave SAO. We wouldn't ever go back to our families or live our lives the way we wanted to. All that was left for us was whatever cruel endgame Kayaba had prepared. Even the animal in the cage gets tired, reaches the end of their rope. I had reached mine. I locked myself up in my room, eyes red and cheeks stained with tears, and waited with dread for the next gut punch.

It came, but it wasn't what I expected. Someone came running down the streets in the Town of Beginnings one afternoon, shouting so hard that I could hear them through the sound dampened window in my room. The floor boss had been defeated. I couldn't believe it. A group of people banded together, despite everything that had happened, and not only pressed on, but achieved victory. They made a dent in SAO's death game. A small one, but a dent nonetheless.

A small, pessimistic part of me hissed that it was only a fluke. Even more people would die on the second floor. The frontliners were only delaying their own pointless deaths.

Then just over a week later, they did it again. The second floor boss was defeated.

The heavy despair that hung over the Town of Beginnings lifted like a curtain. Everything from the sun to the color of trees and buildings seemed to glow a little bit brighter, more vibrant and full of life. People hugged and laughed in the streets. And they were smiling again, talking like it was any normal day. More and more of them filtered out of the safe zones, survival guides were handed out with increasing frequency, and I watched it all through the window of my room, where I'd been cowering for over a month. The pessimist tried to whisper in my ear again. I shut it out and forced myself to admit it.

Maybe beating the game was possible.

I stared at my reflection in the window on that day, and made my decision.

Don't get me wrong, I was still terrified to the core, but I couldn't let it dictate my life. Kayaba may have trapped me in SAO, but I was trapping myself with every hour I spent weeping in my own room.

So I threw on my level one armor, picked up the iron sword I hadn't used since the game first started, and ventured out into the wilderness to play catch-up. I threw myself into the fire. I fought, and used every little trick in the book to do it. I observed monsters from afar and baited them into attacking to study their moves and the best way to counter them. When they were in groups, I drew them out with rocks or throwing picks, one after another, until none remained. I ambushed them from above or below, set traps to thin their numbers, brewed a variety of poisons and corrosions to destroy them from the inside out. After reading the survival guide several times over, I put theory into practice, creating and refining techniques to keep myself alive while putting my enemies down. I even accepted an invitation to join a guild, where I practiced my swordsmanship even further, sharpened my focus and concentration, made friends and allies, and became something more than the scared boy hiding in his room.

In the World of Swords, I carved my path.

The diligence, tenacity, vigilance, and undeterred willpower I cultivated day in and day out carried me through one harrowing battle after another, and it allowed me to see the end of Aincrad two years later, when it was suddenly beaten without warning.

I didn't know how or why, but once I opened my eyes and breathed real world air again, I couldn't bring myself to care. SAO was dead. I was all too ready to turn away from it. Who could blame me? The losses, the sacrifices, the devastating things people suffered — my memories of SAO carried too much pain in them. Not in the physical sense, but in the emotional, the psychological — invisible scars that were no less deep. To keep them from overwhelming me, I forgot them entirely. I moved on, and in the year since, I became a normal teenager again, putting my hard earned survival instincts to rest. They saved my life more than once, but I didn't need them anymore. I didn't _want_ to need them anymore.

Until now.

You'd have to twist my arm to get me to admit it, but there was one good thing about being stuck in SAO. It taught me conflict. Born out of a desperation to survive and forced to adapt to a game of life and death, I discovered the true extent of my ability to fight.

Ikuchi was right about one thing. I was stronger now than I was before, but it wasn't because I'd been fighting tougher and tougher bad guys. It was because the need to protect the people I cared about outweighed the desire to let my talents waste away. Ikuchi made a grave miscalculation when he took Sinon. He expected either her or me to capitulate. He wanted a victory. Instead, he got me.

"What's the matter, Ikuchi?" I asked him. "Figured out that I'm more than just a winning smile?"

Everyone had gone quiet, and despite the situation, I felt an excessive amount of pride for knocking him off his game in front of his flunkies. I tossed a glance at Sinon and she stared back at me, lips parted in slight shock. I never told her about my time in SAO. It was just something I wanted to keep to myself until I was ready to tell her.

Ikuchi stared at me for a long minute, eyes lifeless as he stood forebodingly still, like an empty grave. His photon sword shut off with a subdued hiss, then he clipped it onto his belt, stepping towards me.

He punched me square in the face.

"You disgusting son of a bitch," he snarled. I didn't even have a chance to recover before he grabbed me by the jaw and slugged me again. "You think you can lie to my face and expect me to believe you?"

I spoke through clenched teeth. "Well if you wanna quiz me, I'd be more than happy to."

His fist drove itself hard into my stomach. Pain absorber or not, when something hits you in the gut, you feel the full brunt of it. The air was driven out of my lungs and I fell into a coughing fit, trying to double over, but Mezu's grip on my hair ensured all I could do was watch as Ikuchi reared another fist back.

"Akira, don't!" Serena pleaded. I doubt he even heard her. He punched me hard and pain exploded behind my eyes. Again and again, my brain pounded against the inside of my skull, reeling from the intense beating.

Ikuchi pinched my chin between two of his fingers and lifted my head up, readying another blow. That's when I caught sight of Sinon.

Her expression...words couldn't describe how ferocious it looked. The scowls she gave to people who annoyed her or got in her way were jokes compared to the death glare she was giving now.

" _Get your hands off of him_!" Sinon roared, and there was a scorching rage in her voice the likes of which I've never heard from her. I've seen her angry before, but this was a different kind of emotion altogether. Anger was a matchstick compared to the raw blistering hatred seething in her eyes.

Ikuchi tossed my head aside and looked askance at her, unperturbed. "Shout as much as you like, Sinon. You'll only tire yourself and accomplish nothing," As if to illustrate his point, he slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. I winced as the force caused me to bite my tongue. He looked back at her, waiting. "Nothing. See?"

"Shut up," she snapped. "Shut up!" Her lips peeled away from her teeth, and she thrashed hard against Gozu's hold, so much so that he had to adjust his footing to keep her from knocking him off balance and getting loose. "Your problem is with me, got it? You hurt him and I'll do a lot worse to you."

I smiled despite the situation. Sinon and I had worked together for several months. We grew close over that time and it stirred a protective instinct in me powerful enough to tear half a city apart in my mission to find her. I cared for her deeply. I wanted to shield her from harm. Of course, she'd feel the same way. The thought sent a warm glow flowing through me.

"My, the lengths you two will go for each other," Ikuchi rolled his shoulders. "Almost touching, really."

I heard Mezu grunt behind me. "Boss, the Alpha's giving the boys trouble. They're getting swarmed, badly. We oughta wrap this up."

"I agree," Ikuchi said in a low tone, turning away from me. "There's no point in talking anymore."

Serena's eyes widened. "Akira, I — "

"That's enough, Serena. You betrayed my trust. Far as I'm concerned, you're not worth my time" Ikuchi said. He wouldn't have gotten a stronger reaction out of her if he had slapped her. She forced down a miserable little sob, but it didn't stop the tears from falling down her face.

My fingers twitched like a jolt of electricity shot through them. The stun bullet's effect was wearing off. I'd have a scant few seconds to do something before they realized I could move again. My heart raced with a tense apprehension as a minuscule amount of control trickled into my limbs in the form of tiny shivers. I curled my toes inside my boot to make sure my commands were being followed again, but nothing more. Instead, I remained limp in Mezu's hold, keeping up the helpless charade until I had an opportunity to take advantage.

"You're a real piece of work, man. I mean, come on. You think Serena came here just to get in your way? Talk to her. That's all she wants." Ikuchi fixed me with a cold glare, but I kept going. "What, you think I'm bluffing? Oh, sure, you can convince yourself this whole thing is a trick by yours truly. You can pretend she's not your sister and that I'm not an SAO survivor, but it's the truth, no matter how much you want to deny it."

"Unlikely. You're scrambling for something to save you," Ikuchi said.

"No, I'm not. I survived just like you did," I said. "I've seen first hand how people rebuilt their lives, too. None of them did what you're doing. No, what you're doing here, it isn't gaining power, it's you squirming under the power SAO still has over you."

Ikuchi's face tightened in a contemptuous scowl. He stepped forward with a raised, reeled fist and threw a hard punch. This time I was ready for it.

With Mezu still holding me up by my hair and the back of my jacket, I raised both feet and kicked them square into Ikuchi's chest. A heavy thump sent him staggering back and at the same time, I reached back and fumbled for something, anything to snatch off Mezu's belt to use as a weapon. My fingers touched a polymer handle and I seized it, giving it a hard tug. I expected a gun, but instead it was a machete two feet long and black as night.

Mezu gave a wordless shout of warning and he lifted me up, preparing to body slam me into the ground. I swung the machete back in his general direction and the blade hit with a meaty thud. Mezu howled in a rage. I must've hit something important because he stumbled around and dumped me onto the ground instead of slamming me down.

I scrambled to my feet and faced Ikuchi as he recovered. I moved in, slashing the machete at his throat, but Ikuchi was faster than I anticipated. He leaned his head back as the tip of the blade came around and narrowly missed his neck. His photon sword sprang to life and made a straight thrust for my chest. I brought the machete back the way it came and slapped the attack aside. A searing whine hit my ears the moment the two weapons connected and the machete's edge came away glowing red hot. For balance purposes, the photon blade was set up so that it wouldn't cut through most weapons in one go, but the machete wouldn't survive a thrashing either.

Before either of us could make another move, a bloodcurdling wail came from behind me. The bottom of my stomach fell out. The Zerkers. Ikuchi and I both looked back at Mezu, who was on one knee and clutching the part of his face where I brought the machete down. A long angry red line ran down from his hairline, over his right eye, and down to his chin.

An open wound.

Blood.

"Oh crap," I said.

"Jatai, Teke-Teke, defensive positions. Orochi, Hanzaki, down the middle," Ikuchi said, his tone crisp with authority. With every order he gave, he made a series of elaborate hand gestures, and like clockwork, the men stationed on the levels above us drew their guns away from me and took up new positions, aiming towards the various halls that lead into the rotunda where the bloodthirsty howls echoed.

There were things moving in the darkness. I could barely make them out, but there had to have been a dozen of them at least, and that was just from the ground level. There was no telling how many more were on the second and third floor. The only thing I could say for sure was that we were outnumbered. Big time.

And here we were, surrounded on all sides beneath the only light source in the mall. It may as well have been a neon sign that said 'All-you-can-eat buffet'.

"You didn't think this plan through, did you?" Ikuchi murmured.

"Shut up, Ikuchi," I replied.

I heard the sudden hum of a photon sword being swung and quickly diverted my attention back to him, the machete catching his scarlet blade in a cross before it could cut me in half down the vertical. I dug my feet in and pushed him away.

"You've trapped yourself," Ikuchi said, keeping the point of his photon sword aimed at my chest. "Even if you get away from me, the Zerkers will slaughter you. Surrender, and I'll take you all to safety."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I don't much trust your idea of safety," I said, raising the machete to meet his blade. "To be honest, I'd rather gamble with the Zerkers back there. At least they don't resort to the underhanded stuff you're so fond of."

At that moment, a leonine roar far more powerful than anything a regular Zerker was capable of shook the ground and rattled the air. I recognized the sound for what it was. The Alpha Zerker had given its command. The fight was on.

Ikuchi made a noise of acknowledgement in the back of his throat, then he assumed a defensive stance, gripping his sword with both hands. "Suit yourself."

I looked over my shoulder, and like a rising tide, a swarm of pale mutated bodies charged towards us, all gnashing teeth and foaming mouths eager for the hunt, for the kill.

And I was first in line.

If you've never been in a large-scale brawl, consider yourself lucky. It's confusing enough when two sides are going at it, but add in a third and it becomes damn near impossible to figure out what's going on. Zerkers and Yokai, bullets, shells, claws and teeth — they all slammed into each other in one single terrifying instant. Every level of the rotunda lit up with the sounds of savage combat.

I ran to get away from the initial wave. Ikuchi tried to come after me, but a Zerker closed in on his exposed flank and he had to divert his attention to defend himself.

The photon sword wasn't for nostalgia, evidently. He raised the bright red blade above his head, waited a beat for the creature to swing a clawed hand at him, then with two decisive strokes, he sliced the beast's arm and head clean off. More Zerkers, some of them with their spines extended and quills brimming with acid, charged him before the first hit the ground in a lifeless heap, and Ikuchi faced them square on, his photon sword poised for battle.

One Zerker shot a cloud of quills at me and I dashed to the side to escape the worst of it, the pungent odor of acid burning my nostrils. It closed in, thrusting its claws at my face. I ducked underneath the attack and drove the machete into its ribcage, pushing my weight against it to force it back. The creature howled in torment as I twisted the blade, jerked it out, and sliced a clean cut across its face. The Zerker fell backwards, thrashing on the ground and whipping its arms around, shooting acidic quills in every direction. A few hit my metal chest plate and a dull numbness hit my stomach where more landed. I ignored it and rushed into delivering a final blow to the creature's head.

I looked around, slashing and stabbing any Zerker that came close as I searched for Ikuchi or Sinon. I found the former cutting down the remnants of a group of monsters. Our eyes met, and he came after me, fast.

Then the freaking ground started shaking, and out of the darkness came the hulking muscled form of the Alpha Zerker. Gunshots were spread over its body and part of its face was burned to a charcoal black, most likely from an explosion, yet despite its grievous injuries, it's power seemed to be no less hindered.

Ikuchi froze in place about a dozen feet away from me. The Alpha's gnarled face twisted at the sight of us. It slammed its boulder-sized fists on the ground and broke into a bestial charge straight towards us.

"You gotta be kidding me," I said. I dove out of its way before it could steamroll me and the creature slammed head first into the fountain on the rotunda's center. The stone cracked under the immense weight and power of Alpha Zerker's charge and a wave of water spilled out of the destroyed basin, reaching up to my ankles as it rushed over the floor. The statue that served as its centerpiece fractured with deep fissures and fell to one side, smashing into pieces upon hitting the ground, exposing the fountain's piping where even more water gushed out like a ruptured fire hydrant.

The Alpha roared, grabbed a chunk of broken stone, and flung it towards Ikuchi with all the speed of a major league pitcher. Yokai's stalwart leader was already moving, sidestepping the hurtling projectile and cutting a deep gash along the Alpha's arm as it tried to hit him with a follow up attack. It hissed in a rage and backed away by a step, watching the both of us intently. Then it charged again, this time raising both fists and bringing them down in a hammer blow.. Ikuchi dodged towards me and I barely managed to bring up the machete to stop a surprise swipe meant to take my head off my shoulders.

"We're doing this, huh?" I muttered to him as our blades locked in place. "Fine. Round one."

Ikuchi glared at me like he wanted to say something, but the Alpha wasn't going to give him the opportunity. It swung a tree-trunk arm at us and we broke the sword lock to duck underneath it, backing away from each other as the massive beast came between us.

I heard a series of rapid footsteps behind me and turned as another Zerker thrusted its claws at me. I backed away from its first strike, ducked under the second, and cut the machete across his abdomen from left shoulder to right hip as it wound up for the third. I shoved the blade into its neck, gave it a sharp twist, and heard bone snap. The Zerker gave off a throaty death rattle and died.

It's body burst into pixels, freeing my machete with enough time for me to face Ikuchi as he delivered a series of rapid thrusts to the Alpha, pockmarking it with a flurry of burn marks. The Alpha swung its arms in retaliation, but its attacks were too telegraphed, too slow to catch its smaller, more agile opponent. Ikuchi dodged towards it and cut wide swaths of its flesh, taking out its legs, goring its stomach, and slicing its chest. The Alpha let out an agonized scream, evidently having enough punishment, and retreated, barking out a series of shouts that rallied the nearby Zerkers towards it for protection.

Ikuchi was skilled. But there was more to it than that. The more I watched him, the more something nagged at the deepest recesses of my memories. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. The way he moved and the manner in which he swung his sword felt too familiar to ignore. It followed a rhythm, a certain beat that struck me as recognizable, like the tune of a song from my childhood.

He huffed a breath, turned, and closed in on me instead, photon sword singing through the air with a series of short, quick swings. I blocked the ones I couldn't evade, but it wasn't enough. Ikuchi pushed me back with relentless blows. The machete was almost completely red hot. Droplets of molten steel dribbled down its length, a visual warning that it wouldn't last much longer. If I didn't do something, and soon, it'd snap completely.

"This is the best you can do?" Ikuchi said. Even with all the fighting he was doing, there wasn't a trace of fatigue in his voice. "Stop defending and hit me. If you even can."

He spun in place. I tried to hit his exposed back, but his photon blade suddenly twirled around in a flourish, deflecting my strike away from him as he came back around. I felt the hot sting of his sword cut into my exposed side and cried out, more out of frustration than any actual pain. I backed away, clutching the shallow wound.

"You're flailing," he said, reverting back to a guard position. "You said you were an SAO survivor. You sure don't fight like one."

I grimaced. I couldn't assume he was an amateur in sword fighting, even if we were in a VRMMO where things like combat assists existed. He wasn't a pushover when it came to form. Every move was calculated and precise, right down to the footwork. He'd been a swordsman ever since SAO and it showed.

Then there was me. I hadn't touched a sword in over a year. Of course I'd be out of practice. On its own, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but the problem was that Ikuchi wasn't. A fair fight would end quickly and I wouldn't be the one left standing.

Panic nipped at my already anxious state, but I forced it down with a deep breath. I needed something that would give me a fighting chance of, if not winning the fight, at least escaping it.

"Who did you lose in Aincrad? That's what it is, right? I can't imagine anything else," I said.

"That's no business of yours," Ikuchi replied.

"So you don't deny it."

Ikuchi growled and came at me again, all slashes and thrusts and flourishes, trying to overwhelm my defense with never-ending force. I redoubled my efforts, evading his strikes and circling around him so that he couldn't force me up against a wall, all while blocking only when I absolutely needed to. A Zerker tried to interpose itself between us at some point, but Ikuchi flicked his wrist and bisected the creature without so much as a cursory glance.

Then he slashed his sword at me four times. Each one going in a different direction, tracing the outline of a square. That's when it hit me.

Vertical Square. He was using Sword Skills.

GGO didn't convert those kinds of attacks into its gameplay. After all, it was a gun game, and the only weapon capable of replicating them was treated as little more than a novelty by a majority of the playerbase. Of course, that didn't mean it was impossible. After being stuck in SAO for two years, a survivor's muscle memory would have those attacks down pat. Especially if that survivor kept using swords long after the game was beaten.

Ikuchi was using Sword Skills, but he was doing them manually, replicating them without the aid of the game's system. That meant they could be interrupted, exploited, or even countered if timed properly. I just needed a decent opportunity to do so.

On the other side of the rotunda, I heard the Alpha gathering itself again, howling a vicious snarl. Gozu was still somewhere in the onslaught of Zerkers, if the sound of him giving orders over the clamor of battle was anything to go by, which meant Sinon was still around too.

I had a chance to turn things back in my favor. I just needed to focus and wait for a Sword Skill I recognized — then once it came, I had to execute the plan with perfect precision. No room for mistakes. Easy peasy, right?

I fine tuned my stance, putting the majority of my weight on my back foot while keeping the glowing red machete leveled at its normal position so as not to give away my intentions. "Ikuchi, we all did our best in that game. It isn't your fault that someone died. Taking your grief out on other people won't make things better."

"What the hell do you know?" Ikuchi snarled. "You didn't have to deal with incompetent leaders. You didn't have to suffer watching good people die because of petty politics."

Ding, ding. That drew my interest.

"Politics in SAO? Figured we'd all be working towards the same thing, to get out of the game. There's no room for something like that," I said.

"Then you're naive. As long as there's a group of people, there will always be arguments, especially when one party is so abhorrent that they'll institute taxes on _children_. They tried to extort them too, thinking no one would bat an eye. Well, I did."

I blinked. What the hell? I hadn't ever heard of someone forcing taxes on kids, let alone extorting them. "Didn't you tell someone? Find a way to arrest them?" I asked.

"What good would it have done? I tried to fight back, but they had all the power on the lower floors. They were…" Ikuchi shut his eyes, swallowing down the words, then he tilted his head forward with a scowl. "No. No more stalling. I've had enough of your drivel."

I grit my teeth, thinking furiously, calling on all my knowledge from back then. Sure, there were a few bad apples in SAO, bandits mostly, with the occasional player-killer, but Ikuchi spoke like he knew these people personally, not by running into them in a dark alley. Whoever they were, they had enough pull that they could get away with extorting players, and when Ikuchi tried to fight back, it most likely resulted in the deaths of people he cared about.

I tried to follow that chain of thought more, but Ikuchi lunged forward, swinging his photon blade upwards in a diagonal stroke, forcing my attention away from the questions rolling around in my head. They'd have to wait. I needed to focus on looking for a Sword Skill I could exploit.

I backed away from the photon sword's reach, felt the searing heat cross over my chest, and regained my posture as the blade shifted its course to cut me in half at the waist, the motion every bit as practiced as the others. It may have been luck or a hell of a good guess, but I knew what was coming next. Ikuchi would continue the swing, then bring it down to take my legs in another diagonal slash. The skill was Sharp Nail. I had my opportunity.

I kicked off my back foot and dashed to his right, away from where his sword would go, just before he began his final strike. Ikuchi's eyes widened. He tried to correct his swing, but it was too late. I grabbed his wrist and brought the machete down to sever his arm at the elbow.

Ikuchi spat a curse, then he lashed out and seized _my_ wrist with a surprising amount of strength, stopping it cold. He shoved hard, forcing me on the backpedal, but neither of our weapons came closer to hitting the other.

Which meant we couldn't do a thing when the Alpha appeared again, swinging its massive arm at us again with a strength that was almost biblical. The blow hit us like a runaway car and the last thing I saw was Ikuchi getting tossed into the air with me.

Stars exploded behind my eyes. I felt weightless for what felt like hours, then I slammed into the ground at an awkward angle, rolling once, twice, three times before coming to a halt. Light flooded my vision. My muscles burned with exhaustion and I had to will myself to start breathing again. When I came to, I was lying on my side, staring aimlessly at a section of the rotunda with a distinct lack of Zerkers.

The reason was standing twenty feet away. Mezu, his face still bearing that harsh cut I put on him, had his pal Gozu, who was still holding onto Sinon, standing behind him while he pumped shotgun shells into whatever Zerker came his way. One of them, its spines fully raised, launched a cloud of acidic quills at him, scoring a clean hit on his body armor, creating dozens of pin sized holes in it. Mezu growled and turned his shotgun on the Zerker, blasting a hole the size of my fist into its chest.

Mezu spied me lying on the ground and with a contemptuous sneer, worked the action on his shotgun before turning it on me.

His entire right side suddenly erupted with red pixels. Serena walked into my field of vision, firing my MP7 in her quivering hands, her face set with a determined, if somewhat fragile expression as she emptied the entire magazine into him. Mezu took a step back and turned the shotgun on her, but to her credit, she knew to get out of its way, taking cover behind a nearby pillar as it went off.

I picked up the pieces of my consciousness and struggled to stand upright, knees wobbling. The Alpha had knocked some screws loose, but I managed to not fall over again while recovering the machete from where it lay by my feet.

Mezu started running. "This way," he shouted. "Go, go! It's suicide here!"

They made a break for one of the adjacent hallways that led back into the mall with Sinon still in their clutches. She kept trying to get herself free, but the arm lock Gozu had on her persisted. She had to run with them to keep from getting dragged along the ground, thus making her escape all but impossible. There wasn't a damn thing she could do.

Not yet anyways. They had gone into the eastern hallway. Which meant I had a chance at cutting them off.

"Serena, on me," I ordered. She was quick to join me, tossing me the MP7 as we ran after the two. I caught it with one hand and tucked the machete under an arm so I could reload it. "Rei, please tell me you got that third charge ready."

"I'm setting it up now, Master," she replied.

"Blow it on my signal," I said, my legs pumping furiously, though it was more of a drunken stumble than a dead sprint. I was still shaking off the effects of the Alpha's blow. The two Yokai ran into the hall, Mezu taking the lead. I did my best to follow. "Then come in. Targets on your right and we'll be right behind them."

"G-Got it!" Rei said. "I won't let you down."

"Where's Akira?" Serena asked.

"Dunno. We both got hit by that Alpha. Didn't see where he went," I said. I gave her back the submachine gun. Serena took it, but said nothing, her face set in a tense expression.

Mezu looked over his shoulder, said something to Gozu, then skidded to a stop, raising his shotgun at us while Gozu kept moving, intending to pass him.

Now or never.

"Do it, Rei!"

I didn't even finish the sentence when the hall shook with a thunderous boom. The wall next to Mezu exploded outwards in a hail of shattered stone, plaster, and drywall. The blast hit him dead on, the shockwave picking him up and throwing him into the opposite wall, punching a noticeable crater in it as dust fell from the ceiling. He let out a short rasping gasp and didn't move.

Rei stepped through the newly created hole in the wall, hood and cloak flapping against the stormy winds coursing in from outside. Smart girl. She turned to face Gozu about twenty feet away and pointed her hunting rifle at him.

Gozu stopped. The explosion and the subsequent appearance of Rei had surprised the big man for a moment. It bought me enough time.

I took three long steps, shifting my grip on the machete as I did, and leapt onto his back, driving the red hot blade down into his collarbone halfway to the hilt. Gozu's hold on Sinon went limp and she twisted out of it, lashing out a kick into his knee as she did. There was a hard crunch of impact and he fell to one knee, pain etched onto his face. I withdrew the machete from his shoulder, took aim, and thrusted it down through the back of his shaved head.

From my position, I couldn't see where the blade exited, but I suppose it didn't matter much. People don't tend to survive large bladed weapons going through their skulls. Gozu fell to the ground without a word and disappeared in a shower of pixels.

I sighed in relief. I looked up at Sinon and when our eyes met, her posture relaxed, her gaze softened. The emotions were as clear as day on her face. Relief. Gratitude. Reassurance. I swallowed a deep breath again. She was safe now.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded and a smile touched her lips.

"I'm glad you finally managed to show up," she said, working a teasing tone into her voice.

I snorted and tried my best to return the smile. "I was in the neighborhood. Heard they were having a sale," I said, easing into our old banter again. My expression sobered a little. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner."

"Don't be. I'm just glad you're here" she said.

I bowed my head in thanks, then said, "You armed?"

"No, they took my Glock when they captured me. Does Rei still have Hecate?" she asked.

"Yup. Let's get out of here. Rei, give her baby back," I said, rising. She nodded and opened her menu as we hurried out of the new hole she made.

On the other side was an empty parking lot situated behind the mall. It was smaller than the rest, likely the spot where the employees of various stores would park their cars for the day. Of course, Yokai had likely taken away any that had been around to use for their makeshift barriers, but that didn't mean we couldn't find one lying around nearby to use for ourselves.

"We should find a car. It's the quickest way out of here. Safest too," I said, looking around the immediate area for one.

Rei bobbed her head in agreement as she looked through her inventory. "I saw a bunch around one of the side entrances. We can use one of those."

"Perfect. Let's get a move on, people. Quickly," I said. We started to move, Serena and Rei taking the lead.

I only got as far as a couple of steps before something peculiar shot right past me and buried itself in the ground ahead.

At first I thought it was some kind of tracer round — a type of ammunition people used to watch the flight path of their shooting, making corrections when needed, but there was no gunshot accompanying it, and no tracer round was a pure beam of vibrant green light. Then I thought it was another photon sword until I realized the idea of someone throwing one of those would be rather silly.

I followed the trail of green light back to where it came from and came face to face with a flash of bright red. The tension in my body hadn't gone away and my reflexes were still working in overdrive from fighting so much. Those were the only reasons I was able to react quickly enough to wrap my arms around Sinon and pull her away with me as Ikuchi slid past us in a blur, his photon sword sweeping over where my neck had been just an instant before. He whirled to face us.

The beam of green light had come from a device in his other hand. It looked like a pistol at first glance, bulky and white, reminiscent of a Desert Eagle, almost. That's where the similarities ended. It's barrel was modified with two elongated prongs sticking out of either side, giving it the impression of a child's toy ray gun.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting," Ikuchi muttered. I let go of Sinon. She shot me a look of thanks and stood her ground with me.

"You weren't. In fact, we were just leaving," I said. I glanced over at Serena and Rei. I drew their attention with a short wave and gestured for Serena to go on without us. She looked hesitant, looking between me and her brother, then she gave a reluctant nod and ran.

Ikuchi watched her go. His eyes flickered with a faint emotion I couldn't quite discern. Sadness, maybe? Or regret. It was hard to say.

"Who is she?" he suddenly asked, turning his attention to Rei. She didn't dare move under his gaze.

"Sinon's replacement. I got bored without someone to throw one-liners at."

A low chuckle escaped Ikuchi's lips. It didn't sound amused, least of all friendly. "You are the most insufferable person I've ever had the displeasure of knowing."

"It's hard, but honest work," I replied.

Sinon frowned, tension mounting on her shoulders. "What do we do?"

That was the question. Having another confrontation with Ikuchi while Sinon was still around was just about the last thing I wanted. As long as they were both here, she was still in danger. I needed to get her away, back to the safety of Glocken. It didn't matter how. I just had to do it.

"How much health do you have?" I asked.

"About a third left. We can take him if we're careful," she said.

"I dunno. It'll be dicey."

"You have a better idea?" she asked.

I grunted. "More or less."

No sooner than when I raised the machete did Ikuchi reach into his jacket, his eyes silently daring me to try anything. "Ah, ah, ah. None of that. You're going to keep your hands at your sides, both of you."

I ground my teeth together and lowered my arm. I casted a meaningful look at Rei for half a second, before turning back to Ikuchi. I had to be careful. Any sudden moves on my part could make Ikuchi pull the Black Star, and then it'd all be over.

"You're making a mistake," I said.

Ikuchi tilted his chin up at me, his eyes turning flat. "No, I don't think I am."

"You think so? Because you're one wrong move away from — "

"You're not the first I've had to personally ruin," Ikuchi interrupted me. "You won't be the last either. I've been very generous with you in the past. You should have taken my offers when I gave them."

I glowered at him. "Wasn't ever an option."

"Of course not. You're firmly loyal to Sinon," he said, raising his photon sword at me. Drops of rainwater vaporized into little puffs of steam as they hit the blade. "Almost fanatically so. It's intrigued me for some time now. You two are always seen together, you didn't betray her and you made it abundantly clear you never will, and now you've fought through a whole city to get her back. Friends like that are hard to come by."

I said nothing.

"Yet the anger you displayed when I had her at my mercy seemed to suggest so much more than that. I saw it in your eyes. You were ready to kill me," Ikuchi watched me, then he lifted his eyebrows, lips parting in silent understanding. "Ahhh, that's what it is, isn't it? It'd certainly explain your behavior. You love her."

I kept my face impassively still. "Don't need to love someone in order to look out for them. If you keep coming after her, I'm going to be there to stop you. It's as simple as that."

Ikuchi's face fell into an emotionless mask. "Amusing. You're one person. You'll never be a credible threat on your own."

I barked out a laugh. "Are you serious? You're underestimating me again. Look at where we are, look at what I've done to get here. I outmaneuvered your bounty. I stole the vault's treasure right out of your hands. And what did you do? You laid a trap for me in the hotel, sent squads to hunt me down in the city, set up an impenetrable fortress guarded by every last man in your squad, and look what happened. I broke through it all. Every plan you had fell apart the moment I stepped in. Do you honestly, truly think I won't ever be a threat to you?" I shook my head. "You have a choice, man. You can walk away. No one else has to get hurt here."

"Why do you care so much about what happens to me?"

I glared at him. "Because I don't want SAO ruining more lives. I'd much rather have you rebuilding your life than have you wallowing and hurting people, including yourself."

"You oppose me, yet you don't want me to hurt myself," Ikuchi looked like he was legitimately lost for words. "What kind of backwards logic is that?"

"My kind," I said. "I'm a bleeding heart."

He stared at me with those same flat eyes and shook his head. "And I'm not a charity case. Your help isn't needed or wanted. The most you're good for is being crushed under my heel."

"Maybe you could, just for a second, realize how your actions are affecting people besides yourself," I said. "Take a step back and realize how out of hand things have gotten."

He regarded me in silence, his dull gaze lacking anything resembling life or spirit, like a part of his soul had been gouged out, the wound turning black and rotten. "Why should I?"

"It's the right thing to do. You keep carrying on like this and nobody is going to be happy in the end. It doesn't have to be like that. There's still time for you to turn a new leaf. "

We stood in silence for a long minute, rain pouring at a steady beat. Ikuchi narrowed his eyes, frown lines appearing on his face. He made a few attempts to speak, but words seemed to fail him. Then he sighed and shook his head, the gesture almost apologetic.

"No...I'm sorry, but there isn't. The right thing doesn't exist. If it did, SAO wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. Kayaba wouldn't have created that death trap to begin with. But he did. Because he had power. The ones who abused and taxed and extorted people in Aincrad? They had it too. They controlled everything," Ikuchi said in a quiet tone. He bowed his head at a slight angle. "Yeah, that's the only thing that matters in the world. It's the only way to heal. Everything else is just window dressing."

The way in which he said those words gave me pause. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more so than me. He wanted control again. It was worth looking into later, though, when we weren't a wrong move away from the situation getting worse. For now, I needed to get away from him.

I looked over his shoulder and said, "Fine. Say hi to Gozu for me."

Surprise hit his face at the last possible second. He was too late to notice I'd been stalling the whole time, drawing his attention away long enough for Rei to slip behind him and level her hunting rifle at his back.

She fired and didn't miss a single shot.

In the span of five seconds, Rei emptied the entire magazine into Ikuchi's back. He stumbled forward, then tried to turn and raise his sword to defend himself. He was distracted, but not for long.

Sinon saw a chance to attack him and rushed to take it. I didn't let her. I reached out before she got away, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her up against me. She looked up at me, furrowed her eyebrows, and opened her mouth to speak.

I impaled her with the machete. Right through the stomach.

Her body went rigid. Her eyes flew wide open, filled with shock, confusion, and a little bit of betrayal."Wh-what?"

I gave her a small smile, bowed my head a little in apology, and said, "Sorry. I'll explain later, okay?"

She blinked at me, then grabbed me hard by the shoulders, her expression incomprehensible. "You better."

Then she disappeared in a lightshow of scattered pixels.

I killed her.

Holy crap.

There wasn't a single person I knew who ever came close to doing what I just did, and it wasn't for lack of trying. Sinon was all skill and steel nerve underneath an inflexible icy exterior. She was a BoB finalist. Someone who killed and made a fool out of some of the most high ranking players in GGO. It was a point of pride for her. She built her reputation on it.

And she just got done in by a Nobody.

She wasn't mad, right?

Right.

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm going to pay for it later.

The last of the motes of light vanished into thin air by the time Ikuchi got his bearings. He gawked at the now empty space Sinon once occupied, realized what I did, then threw me a seething, hateful look.

"You," he growled.

I spread my arms out wide and for the first time in a long while, a snarky grin spread on my face. "Ladies and gentlemen," I said, with all the grandeur of an announcer for a primetime concert. "Sinon has left the building."

"This isn't over," Ikuchi said. "I still have the Black Star. Nothing has been decided. You haven't won."

"Yap, yap, yap. You gonna whine some more, puppy?" I know I was supposed to be helping him overcome his demons and everything, but I couldn't stop my lips from flapping even if I wanted to. That's what happens when hours of anxious worry for my maybe-girlfriend are suddenly lifted off my shoulders. I stopped Ikuchi. Again. And damn it, I was going to let him know it. "I told you. Everytime I step in, poof. There goes your meticulously crafted plans. Maybe you should consider a career change. I hear the circus is hiring."

Ikuchi's face turned red with unrepentant anger. I gave him a smile full of jovial cheer in response. Suck on that, jerk.

"What was that?" he growled, the words almost unrecognizable from the anger tinging them.

"You got outplayed, Ikuchi. Game, set, match," I said. I reined in the urge to keep up the smack talk, but believe me, it was a challenge. "You see how pointless this is? We don't have to keep doing this."

"Yes. We. do." Ikuchi stalked towards me, murder plain on his face as he raised his photon sword.

Mezu's crushed corpse rolled to stop right in between us. It wasn't a pretty sight. The kevlar he wore had been ripped to shreds. Claw marks four inches deep stretched over his body and his deltoid muscles had been gnawed off along with the back of his neck. His eyes were glassy, unfocused. He was already dead. His avatar disappeared a second later.

All three of us, Ikuchi, Rei, and myself flinched when we heard a roar that was all too familiar. Rei's C4 detonation gave us a way out, but it also made a lot of noise. I hoped that it would keep any Yokai chasing us busy with Zerkers, but Ikuchi's interference cost us the precious time we needed to get away.

The scarred, hulking form of the Alpha Zerker suddenly appeared from out of the darkness of the mall, pushing itself through the hole we left through, stone fragmenting as it struggled to hold such colossal mass.

"I suppose this is it. We'll see each other again. I'm sure of it," Ikuchi said. An indignant scowl crossed his face, but rather than press an attack, he ran straight for the Alpha, drawing the white plastic gun from his coat once more. Rei raised her hunting rifle and fired as fast as she could. The shots went wide as Ikuchi shot another green beam at the roof of the mall, hauling him up and over the Alpha as it reached up and missed his dangling legs by inches. He made it to the roof and disappeared out of sight.

"Master!" Rei cried. I snapped my attention to the Alpha at the same time it did to us. Its back leg dug at the asphalt then it charged at my ArFA-Sys with a bellow of animalistic fury.

It seemed unfair for such a large slab of meat and muscle to move as fast as it did, but I guess it didn't become top dog because of a coin flip.

Rei saw it coming and froze in place, eyes wide, too paralyzed to do anything. I couldn't blame her. A behemoth monstrosity barreling towards you is intimidating. Most people would freeze up being in the same room with a hungry tiger.

I ran as fast as I could, but the Alpha was going to beat me.

"Rei," I screamed, my voice booming over the beating storm, "Rifle up!"

Rei jerked, snapping back into focus, and got her rifle up between the Alpha's jaws and her head. Its yellow teeth snapped down on the weapon and its massive weight forced her to the ground on her back. The Alpha whipped its head back and forth like a rabid dog, dragging her along the ground like she was its chew toy. Thick, viscous drool drizzled down her arms and sprayed onto her face as she let out little panicked yelps.

The Alpha raised its head and brought it down, pushing her harder against the ground, it's grotesque face inching close enough for its hot, putrid breath to hit her face. Rei's rifle creaked. The scope's glass popped, shattering into pieces. The wooden stock whined in protest as the strength of the Alpha's bite began to bend the metal barrel. Rei couldn't hold out forever. Eventually, it would snap its jaws around her neck.

Which is why it got a rude interruption when I jumped onto its back and stabbed the machete through its spine. It let go of Rei and howled in a rage. It twisted around in an attempt to buck me off, but I held firm.

"Go, go, go!" I shouted to Rei. She scrambled to her feet and got clear. Which left just me to contend

At that moment, the sound of a car horn blaring through the air hit my ears, and the Alpha and I were suddenly awashed with a bright light. It was coming from a pair of headlights mounted to a truck that looked like it ate other cars as a light snack. And it was speeding right for us.

Hardly needed more motivation than that.

I jumped right off the Alpha's back like a springboard. Not even a second later, the truck slammed into it with an ugly crunching noise, carrying it away and crashing it into a nearby wall. The truck's wheels spun in place, crushing the Alpha's body as it clawed at the hood of the car, shrieking an unholy wail.

A bang that sounded like a mortar round pierced my eardrums and the Alpha's head popped like a balloon filled with jam, pixelated blood gushing out in an arterial spray. The headless body twitched and spasmed, clawing at nothing, then it went still, disappearing in a scattering of pixels.

Rei lowered Hecate and got up from the kneeling position she was in, the pain of the recoil evident on her face. The ultra rare rifle demanded a strength stat that could let you bench press a bodybuilder and anything less was an affront to its status. "Monster defeated, Master," she panted.

I hobbled over to her and patted her on the arm, smiling. "I'll say. You did great, Rei. More than great, actually. You did everything perfectly. Thank you."

Her expression brightened and she gave me an enthusiastic salute. "I'm always happy to serve."

The truck honked its horn a few times and Serena poked her head out of the window when we came near. "Where's Ikuchi?" she asked.

"Escaped. Guess the rest of his unit got wiped and he figured he would get us later," I said. Serena spat a word under her breath.

"And Sinon?"

"Safe. I got her out. She'll be back at Glocken."

"Well, that's something at least," she said, and I couldn't help but notice the slightest touch of dissatisfaction in her tone. She sighed and said, "So are we done or what?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then. I wanna ditch this place."

Rei and I climbed into the backseat. Serena put the truck in reverse and pulled us out into the street again, away from the destroyed ruins of Royal Gallery Mall and eventually into the grass plains that surrounded Old South.

I leaned out from the backseat and said to Serena, my voice a whisper, "Don't worry, we still have hope. I don't think Ikuchi is one hundred percent on this plan of his."

Serena kept her eyes on the road, her mouth working into a slight frown. "What makes you say that?"

"He had to convince himself that what he was in the right. Sounds like even he isn't sure what he's doing and he's grasping for the first thing that gives him any sense of control," I said. "If we steer him towards something that can do that without hurting anyone then maybe we can end this whole mess."

"God, I hope so," Serena said. "So do you have a plan?"

"Not yet, but now that I know a little bit more about him, I can cook something up. He let some things slip about SAO. I think I'll be able to use it."

Serena nodded. "Yeah, and while we're talking about that, what's the deal with you? You're an SAO survivor too?"

"Unfortunately," I said. "I don't have the fondest memories of that place. I'd rather forget it entirely, but the circumstances have changed."

"You did blather it to everybody," Serena said.

"Especially Ikuchi. He knows what I am now. Even if he denies it, it's going to be stuck in the back of his mind. Hopefully, that means he'll be more inclined to listen to me. Survivor to survivor, y'know?"

Serena remained silent for a while as she drove. I looked out the passenger window at the rolling grassy hills and the sea of storm grey clouds. It had only been a couple of hours at most since I met Sinon at the hotel, but it felt like years had gone by. I wearily leaned back into the comfortable leather seating, closed my eyes, and took slow deep breaths, feeling the tension drain away from my joints and muscles until what remained was a twitchy numb sensation.

"What was it like in there?" Serena asked out of the blue. "Ikuchi never told me about it, so I never found out. But..."

"It's different for everyone," I said without opening my eyes. "For some it wasn't that bad. They stayed behind the walls of the safe zone and lived pretty normal lives. Others, well, they have therapists at the survivor school for a reason."

Serena didn't say anything for a beat, just long enough for maybe a nervous gulp. "And for you?"

"Highs and lows. Except the lows were really, really low." I waved a hand out in front of me. "I'd rather not get into it right now if that's alright."

"Yeah, okay," Serena said. We passed the rest of the ride in silence until we reached the edge of the zone and left Old South behind us.

But the memories of SAO were going to stick around a little while longer.


End file.
